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Presented    by  "33  r*.   O.  ^^.    V<:?TV-Vor^  . 

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BX  9191  .H688w3 
Hodge,  John  Aspinwall,  183 
1901  . 
What  is  Presbyterian  law  as 
dpfinsd  hv  the  rhurch 


~Kt^(y  aJ^-crr) 


-U-/P-f-r~ 


WHAT  IS  PRESBYTERIAN  LAW 


AS  DEFINED  BY 


THE  CHURCH  COURTSl 


THIRD   EDITION. 

WITH   AN   APPENDIX 

CONTAINING    THE    DECISIONS    OF    THE    GENERAL 
ASSEMBLIES   OF   1882   AND   1883. 


BY   THE 

Rev.  J.  ASPINWALL  HODGE,  D.  D. 


PHILADELPHIA  : 
PRESBYTERIAN   BOARD  OF  PUBLICATION, 

Xo.  1334  CHESTNUT  STREET. 


COPYRIGHT,   1882,   BY 

THE  TRUSTEES  OF  THE 

PKESI3YTKRIAX    BOARD    OF    PUBLTCATIOX. 


COPYRIOHT,   1884,   BY 

THE  TRL'STEES  OF  THE 

I'RKSBYTERIAX    BOARD    OF    PUBLICATIOX. 

ALL    niGHTS  RESERVED. 


Wkstcott  &  Thomson, 

Steieoti//iPi.i  tiiiil  E/ecliul;/iiir.i,  I'iiilinhi. 


PREFACE. 


Throughout  my  ministry  of  twenty-five  years  I 
have  experienced  the  need  of"  ready  and  authoritative 
answers  to  questions  which  constantly  arise  in  Church 
work.  As  a  young  man,  fresii  from  tlie  seminary,  I 
was  embarrassed  when  suddenly  made  "  the  chief  ruler," 
the  Moderator  of  the  Session.  I  was  practically  igno- 
rant of  its  high  duties,  and  was  tempted  to  neglect  them 
under  the  new  and  absorbing  pressure  of  pulpit  prepara- 
tion. Questions  of  government  and  discipline  were  pre- 
sented, and  my  opinions  and  the  theories  urged  by  others 
were  useless.  I  needed  to  know  how  the  Church  had 
defined  its  constitution  and  applied  its  laws,  and  was 
thus  led  to  record  the  interpretations  and  decisions  of 
our  highest  judicatory.  I  soon  found  that  Elders  and 
Deacons,  unexpectedly  called  to  their  responsible  offices, 
gave  their  solemn  assent  to  the  constitution  often  after 
a  very  cursory  reading,  and  were  necessarily  perplexed 
as  to  their  duties.  Candidates  were  frequently  ordained 
when  found  "  apt  to  teach,"  but  unprepared  "  to  rule  " 
and  "to  take  care  of  the  Church  of  God."  Communi- 
cants needed  instruction  as  to  the  distinctive  jn'inciples 


4  PREFACE. 

of  Presbyterian  ism,  their  own  privileges  and  work  in 
the  Church  and  their  relation  to  other  denominations 
of  Christians. 

To  meet  these  needs  in  my  own  congregation,  I  formed 
a  class  on  Church  Polity,  and  prepared  questions  on  our 
"Form  of  Government"  to  help  the  members  in  their 
study.  The  interest  excited  and  the  good  accomplished 
convinced  me  that  all  the  officers  and  members  of  our 
churches  would  be  greatly  helped  by  authoritative  an- 
swers to  such  questions.  In  this  book  I  attempt  to  aid 
them,  presenting,  not  my  own  views  nor  the  theories  of 
others,  but  Presbyterian  Law  as  defined  by  the 
Church  Courts.  Sound  doctrine,  the  efficiency  of 
officers,  Christian  activity  and  the  maintenance  of  fel- 
lowship with  other  branches  of  Christ's  Church,  all 
depend  very  much  upon  a  correct  appreciation  and 
proper  use  of  our  scriptural  form  of  government;  the 
principles  of  which  have  been  developed  and  illustrated 
under  both  the  Old  and  New  Dispensations  of  the  Church 
of  God.  Sabbath -school  classes  in  Church  Polity  there- 
fore would  be  a  lasting  spiritual  edification  to  the  whole 
Church  ;  and  more  practical  instruction  in  the  theologi- 
cal seminaries  and  thorough  examinations  before  Prcs- 
bytei'y  would  secure  a  ministry  better  fitted  to  teach 
and  to  rule. 

The  real  unity  of  the  Church,  as  well  as  denominational 
courtesy,  I'cqulres  the  recognition  of  the  ministry,  ordi- 
nances and  discipline  of  other  branches  of  the  Christian 


PREFACE.  0 

Church.  Christ  brings  all  his  worshipers  into  frequent 
ecclesiastical  and  personal  relations  for  mutual  improve- 
ment, and  in  anticipation  of  the  perfect  communion  to  be 
enjoyed  hereafter.  I  have  therefore  stated  the  principal 
peculiarities  of  other  churches,  as  far  as  possible,  in  the 
words  of  their  acknowledged  standards. 

I  trust  that  this  book  may  help  to  make  us  more  loyal 
and  efficient  as  Presbyterians,  and  more  sympathetic  with 
the  whole  body  of  Christ. 

J.  ASPINWALL  HODGE. 
Hartford,  Connecticut,  ) 

January,  1882.  j 

1  * 


LIST   OF  AUTHOEITIES. 


American  Ci/dopii'din  (1880). 

American  Educational  Society's  Annual  Reports. 

Annals  of  the  American  Pulpit  (1856),  William  B.  Sprague. 

Assembly's  Digest  (1855),  Samuel  J.  Baird. 

Assembly's  Digest,  Scvised  (1858),  Samuel  J.  Bajrd. 

Authorized  Standards  of  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland  (1870). 

Book  of  Church  Order  (1879),  (Presbyterian  Church  South). 

Book  of  Common  Prayer  (Protestant  Episcopal  Church). 

Book  of  Common  Prayer  (1874),  (Reformed  Episcopal  Church). 

Book  of  Discipline  (Presbyterian  Church). 

Books  of  Discipline  {First  and  Second)  of  the  Kirk  of  Scotland  (1560,  1638), 

Canons  of  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  (1878). 

Canons  of  Reformed  Episcopal  Church  (1874). 

Catechisms  (Larger  and  Sliorter),  (Westminster). 

Church  of  God  (1858),  Stuart  Robinson. 

Church  Polity  (1878),  Charles  Hodge. 

Companion  of  the  Revised  Version  (1881),  Alexander  Roberts. 

Confession  of  Faith  (Westminster). 

Congregationalism  (1874),  Henry  M.  Dexter. 

Congregational  Manual  (1872),  Joseph  E.  Roy. 

Connecticut  Historical  Collections  (1838),  J.  Warner  Barber. 

Constitutional  History  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  (1851),  Charles  Hodgb. 

Culdee  Church  (1868),  T.  V.  Moore. 

Deacon,  The  (1841),  James  M.  Wilson. 

Digest  of  the  Laxo  of  General  Synod  Reformed  Cliurch  (1869). 

Digest,  New  (1861),  '\^■ILLIAM  E.  Moore. 

Directory  for  Worship  (Presbyterian). 

Discipline  (1880),  (Methodist  Episcopal). 

Divine  Rigid  of  Church  Government  (1799). 

Ephesians,  Commentary  on  (18.56),  Charles  HoDr;E. 

Form  of  Government  (Presbyterian). 

Formula  of  Government  (1881),  (Lutheran). 

History  of  Apostolic  Cliurch  (1853),  Philip  Schaff. 

History  of  Presbyterian  Church  (1864),  E.  H.  Gillett. 

History  of  Presbyterian  Church  (1857),  Richard  Webster. 

Home  Missionary  (American  Home  Missionary  Society). 

Manual  of  Presbyterian  Law  and  Usage  (1S73),  McFalls  and  Sunderland. 

Minutes  of  General  Assembly,  O.  S.  (1838-1869). 

Minutes  of  General  Assembly,  N.  S.  (1S38-1869). 

Minutes  of  General  Assembly  (1869-1881). 

Xdiiir,  Xdtiire  and  Functions  of  Ruling  Elder  (1845),  Tho.mas  Smith. 

Presl)ytrri(m  l)i(iest  (1S73),  William  E.  Moore. 

Presbyterian  Manual  (1860),  John  N.  Lewis. 

Presbyterianism  (1835),  Samuel  Miller. 

Presbyterian  Reunion  Memorial  Volume  (1871). 

Primitive  Church  Offices  (1S51),  J.  Addison  Alexander. 

Records  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  (1841). 

Report  of  the  Second  General  Council  of  the  Presbyterian  Alliatice  (1880). 

Report  of  the  Committee  of  Revision  of  the  Book  of  Discipline  {Second),  (1881). 

Ruling  Elder  {\KV1),  Samuel  ^Filler. 

Tivo  Centuries  in  the  History  of  tlie  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jamaici  (1872),  James 

M.  Macdonald. 
What  is  Presbytcriatiism  f  (18,5.5),  Charles  Hodge. 

6 


CONTENTS. 


[The  chapters  and  sections  correspond  with  those  of  the  "  Fona  of  Govern- 
ment," and  the  text  of  these  is  indicated  by  italics.]      • 


Page 
Preface 3 

List  op  Books  to  which  Reference  is  Made 6 

Contents 7 

Introductoky 9 

Chap.  I.  PRELIMINARY  Principles 21 

II.  Op  the  Church 28 

III.  Op  the  Officers  of  the  Church 41 

IV.  Of  Bishops  or  Pastors 45 

V.  Of  Ruling  Elders 52 

VI.  Op  Deacons <J0 

YII.  Of  Ordinances  in  a  Particular  Church 71 

Prayer 74 

Praise 76 

Preaching 80 

Baptism 82 

Lord's  Supper 90 

Fasting 93 

Marriage 95 

Catechising 105 

Collections 109 

Discipline HO 

Benediction 114 

VIII.  Of  Church  Government,  and  the  Several  Kinds 

of  Judicatories 114 

IX.  Of  the  Church  Session 123 

X.  Of  the  Presbytery 171 


8  CONTENTB. 

•  "HAP.  Page 

XI.  Of  the  Synod 231 

XII.  Of  the  General  Assembly 245 

XIII.  Of  Electing  and  Ordaining  Euling  Elders  and 

Deacons 282 

XIV.  Op   Licensing  Candidates   or    Probationers   to 

Preach  the  Gospel 299 

XV.  Of  the  Election  and  Ordination  of  Bishops  or 

Pastors,  and  Evangelists 328 

XVI.  Of  Translation,  or  Kemoving  a  Minister  from 

one  Charge  to  another 362 

XVII.  Of  Resigning  a  Pastoral  Charge 371 

XVIII.  Of  Missions  (Boards  and  Committees) 381 

Bo;ird  of  Home  Missions 385 

Board  of  Education 400 

Board  of  Publication 412 

Board  of  Foreign  Missions 426 

Board  of  Churcli  Erection 439 

Board  of  Belief 446 

Committee  of  Mission  for  Frecdmen 451 

Sustentation  Fund 463 

Permanent  Committee  on  Temperance 469 

Committee  on  Manses 472 

Permanent  Committee  on  Systematic  Beneficence 475 

Presbyterian  Historical  Society 481 

XIX.  Of  Moderators 485 

General  Rules  for  Judicatories 490 

XX.  Of  Clerks 499 

XXI.  Op  Vacant  Congregations  assembling  for  Pub- 
lic Worship 504 

XXII.  Of  Commissioners  to  the  General  Assembly 506 

Index 519 


INTRODUCTORY. 


What  is  the  Church  ? 

"The  invisible  Church  is  the  whole  number  of  the 
elect,  that  have  been,  are,  or  shall  be  gathered  into  one 
under  Christ  the  Head."  "  The  visible  Church  is  a  so- 
ciety made  up  of  all  such  as  in  all  ages  and  places  of 
the  world  do  profess  the  true  religion,  and  of  their 
children."* 

What  is  the  present  condition  of  the  visible  Church  ? 

It  is  composed  of  various  denominations,  or  churches, 
which,  while  holding  to  Christ  the  Head,  and  receiving 
the  Scriptures  as  the  inspired  revelation  of  his  truth  and 
will,  are  distinguished  from  each  other  by  their  creeds, 
forms  of  worship  and  polities. 

What  are  the  principal  kinds  of  church  government  ? 

1.  The  Papal.  Its  characteristics  are,  "a  vicar  of 
Christ,  a  perpetual  college  of  Apostles,  and  the  people 
subject  to  their  infallible  control." 

2.  The  Peelatical,  which  teaches  "  the  perpetuity 
of  the  apostleship  as  the  governing  power  in  the  Church, 
which  therefore  consists  of  those  who  profess  the  true 
religion  and  are  subject  to  apostle-bishops."  Its  Low 
Church  form  asserts  that  "  there  was  originally  a  three- 
fold order  in  the  ministry,  and  that  there  should  be  now. 

*  Larger  Catechism,  Qq.  02  and  64. 


10  INTRODUCTORY. 

But  it  does  not  affirm  that  mode  of  organization  to  be 
essential." 

3.  The  Independent,  which  holds  that  "the  gov- 
erning and  executive  power  in  the  Church  is  in  the 
brotherhood/'  and  "  that  the  church  organization  is 
complete  in  each  worshiping  assembly,  which  is  inde- 
pendent of  every  other."  * 

4.  The  Congregational,  which  maintains  that  "all 
ecclesiastical  power  resides  in  the  church,  or  the  associ- 
ated body  of  the  brethren,"  and  that  the  churches,  which 
"  live  in  close  fraternal  union,  are  associated  together  in 
bodies,  and  often  ask  and  receive  advice  and  help  from 
each  other;  but  all  this  is  the  result  of  nmtual  confidence 
and  affection,  not  of  any  superior  power."  The  inde- 
pendence of  the  churches  is  claimed  in  the  right  of  each 
to  choose  its  own  officers,  determine  its  creed,  judge  its 
members  and  formulate  its  worship.  The  community 
of  the  churches  is  expressed  in  Councils,  called  in  emer- 
gencies, and  which  have  only  advisory  power,  f 

5.  The  Presbyterian,  which  holds  that  "  the  people 
have  a  right  to  a  substantive  part  in  the  government  of 
the  Church,"  by  representatives  generally  called  Ruling 
Elders;  that  "the  Presbyters  who  minister  in  word  and 
doctrine  are  the  highest  permanent  officers  of  the  Church, 
and  all  belong  to  the  same  order ;"  and  that  "  the  out- 
ward and  visible  Church  is,  or  should  be,  one,  in  the  sense 
that  a  smaller  p.'irt  is  subject  to  a  larger,  and  a  larger  to 
the  whole,"  as  in  courts  of  appeal. | 

What  portions  of  the  Reformed  Church  are  Presbyterian  ? 
The  Protestant  churches  of  France,  Holland,  Germany, 

*  What  is  Presbytericmism,  pp.  5,  6. 
•j-  Conrfregutionctl  Manual,  pp.  6-11. 
'I  Wliat  is  Presbijfrrianixm,  pp.  6,  7. 


ORIGIN    OF    PRE8BYTERIANISM.  11 

Switzerland,  Scotland,  Ireland  and  portions  of  the  dis- 
senting churches  of  England,  and  those  in  this  country 
and  Canada  planted  by  them.*  This  list  is  very  imper- 
fect, as  may  be  seen  in  the  list  of  churches  in  the  Pres- 
byterian Alliance.  To  it  should  be  added  the  Presby- 
terian Church  of  Wales,  Mission  Church  of  Belgium, 
Waldensiau  Church  of  Italy,  Reformed  Church  of  East 
Friesland,  Evangelical  Church  of  Spain,  the  Reformed 
churches  of  Bohemia  and  Moravia,  in  the  Netherlands, 
in  Russia,  the  Free  Italian  Church,  Reformed  Dutch 
Church  in  Cape  Colony,  in  Orange  Free  State,  in  Natal, 
in  South  Africa,  in  Australia,  in  New  Zealand,  in  Otago, 
in  Ceylon  and  in  New  Hebrides.f  To  this  list  should 
be  added  also  the  various  mission  churches  established  in 
heathen  lands. 

Did  Presbyterianism  originate  with  the  Reformers  ? 

The  three  great  principles  of  Presbyterianism — viz. 
government  by  Elders,  the  parity  of  the  ministry  and 
courts  of  appeals — have  always  been  recognized  in  the 
Church  of  God.  (See  Ex.  3  :  16;  18  :  25,  26;  Num. 
11:16.)  For  the  ceremonial  services  (which  were  typi- 
cal and  temporary)  there  were  Priests  of  various  orders. 
But  the  teaching  Elders,  or  Scribes,  or  Doctors  of  the 
law,  were  of  the  same  order.  The  Apostles,  who  were 
extraordinary  and  temporary  officers,  |  ordained  Elders 
in  every  church,  and  in  their  Epistles  distinguished  be- 
tween those  who  "rule  well"  and  those  who  "labor  in 
word  and  doctrine"  (Acts  15  :  25;  1  Tim.  5  :  17).  The 
most  ancient  churches  still  extant,  or  of  whose  govern- 
ment we   have  information,  were  Presbyterian ;   as  the 

*  Miller  on  Presbyterianism,  p.  20. 

f  Report  of  Second  General  Council  of  the  Presbyterian  Alliance,  pp. 
5,  9.  +  See  p.  42. 


12  INTRODUCTORY. 

Waldensiaii  and  Bohemian  churches,  the  Syrian  in  the 
far  East,  the  ancient  British  churches,  and  the  Culdee 
Church  in  lona,  Scotland,  which  land  had  received 
Christianity,'  according  to  Tertullian  and  Baronius,  be- 
fore the  death  of  John.  These  churches  claim  to  have 
received  their  form  of  government  from  the  Apostles' 
teaching  and  practice.  Calvin  and  the  other  Reformers 
derived  their  })rinciples  of  polity  and  discipline  from  the 
Scriptures,  and  from  these  ancient  churches.* 

What  is  the  earliest  record  of  a  Presbytery  in  England  ? 

In  1572  a  Presbytery  was  formed  at  Wandsworth,  near 
Loudon.  In  1574,  T.  Cartwright  republislied  Travers' 
work  under  the  title,  "  A  full  and  Plaine  Declaration  of 
Ecclesiastical  Discipline  out  of  the  Word  of  God."  In 
1584  a  national  Synod  in  London  revised  a  book  which 
was  called  the  "  Holy  Discipline,"  and  which  before  1590 
Avas  subscribed  by  five  hundred  Ministers  in  England, f 

What  book  of  polity  was  adopted  by  the  Church  of  Scot- 
land at  the  Reformation  ? 

"  Previous  to  the  legal  establishment  of  the  Protestant 
religion  in  1560,  the  'Book  of  Common  Order,'  used  by 
the  English  church  at  Geneva,  was  generally  followed 
as  the  rule  of  worship  and  discipline  by  the  Scotch  Re- 
formers ;  but  that  being  found  inadequate  to  the  regu- 
lation of  a  Church  consisting  of  numerous  congregations, 
a  'Book  of  Discipline'  adapted  to  the  state  of  the  Church 
was  soon  after  that  event  urged  upon  Parliament,"  but  it  dis- 
solved without  action.  The  same  year  a  "  Book  of  Policy," 
or  "  First  Book  of  Discipline,"  was  approved  by  the  Gen- 

*  Name,  Nature  and  Function  of  Ruling  Elder,  p.  78 ;  The  Culdee 
Church,  pp.  33-51  and  65-72;  Miller  on  Presbyierianism,  pp.  9-22; 
Primitive  Church  Offices,  pp.  1-67. 

f  Constitutional  llistonj  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  p.  2,S. 


WESTMINSTER    ASSEMBLY.  13 

eral  Assembly.  This,  while  sanctioned  by  the  Church, 
was  never  formally  approved  by  the  civil  authorities. 
"  The  Second  Book  of  Discipline "  was  adopted  by  the 
General  Assembly  in  1578;  and  according  to  it  the 
church  government  was  established  in  1592.* 

When  did  the  Westminster  Assembly  of  Divines  meet  ? 

This  Assembly  of  Ministers  and  laymen  met  by  order 
of  Parliament  July  1,  1643,  and  closed  February  22, 
1649.  Its  sessions  were  in  the  Jerusalem  Chamber  of 
Westminster  Abbey.  Great  dissatisfaction  had  been 
caused  by  the  introduction  of  new  ceremonies,  the  en- 
forcement of  the  "  Book  of  Sunday  Sports,"  the  expulsion 
of  Puritan  clergy,  and  the  effort  to  force  the  Episcopal 
liturgy  upon  the  Scottish  churches.  This  Assembly  was 
called  "  to  be  consulted  with  by  Parliament  for  settling 
of  the  government  and  the  liturgy  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, and  for  the  vindication  of  the  doctrine  of  the  said 
Church  from  false  aspersions  and  interpretations."  In 
October  of  the  same  year  Parliament  ordered  the  mem- 
bers to  "confer  and  treat  among  themselves  of  such 
discipline  and  government  as  may  be  most  agreeable  to 
God's  holy  word,  etc.,  to  be  settled  in  this  Church,  in 
stead  and  place  of  the  present  church  government  by 
Archbishops,  Bishops,  etc.,  which  is  resolved  to  be  taken 
away,  and  touching  and  concerning  the  directory  of 
worship,  or  liturgy,  hereafter  to  be  in  the  Church."  The 
Assembly  had  no  ecclesiastical  authority,  but  was  to  confer 
with  Parliament  on  these  subjects.  Of  those  appointed 
members  of  the  Assembly,  twenty  were  Ministers  of  the 
Church  of  England;  many  of  these  were  prevented  from 
taking  their  seats  by  a  proclamation  from  the  king  for- 
bidding the  meeting  of  the  Assembly.     At  the  open- 

*  The  Church  of  God,  by  Stuart  Kobinson,  Appendix,  pp.  iv.,  xvii. 
2 


14  INTRODUCTORY. 

iug  there  were  sixty-nine  Ministers  present.  Most  of 
these  were  Presbyterians,  ten  were  Independents  and  six 
were  Erastians  (holding  that  the  Church  is  subordinate 
to  the  State).  The  whole  number  of  delegates  was  one 
hundred  and  twenty  Ministers  and  thirty  laymen.  In 
]644  the  Assembly  submitted  to  Parliament  "  The  Di- 
rectory for  Public  Worship ;"  in  1646, "  The  Confession  of 
Faith."  In  1 647  the  Assembly  sent  to  the  House  of  Com- 
mons "  The  Larger  Catechism,"  and  the  same  year  "  The 
Shorter  Catechism."  These  were  adopted  immediately  by 
the  General  Assembly  of  the  Church  of  Scotland.  In 
England  the  "  Directory  for  Public  Worship  "  and  the 
"Confession  of  Faith"  were  ratified  by  Parliament.  These, 
with  the  Assembly's  Catechism,  became  the  standards 
of  the  English  and  of  the  Irish  Presbyterian  churches, 
but  the  restoration  of  the  Stuarts  re-established  Epis- 
copacy in  its  former  authority  in  England.* 

What  was  the  earliest  Presbyterian  church  in  Amer- 
ica? 

This  is  uncertain.  The  first  Presbyterian  church  of 
New  York  was  planted  by  the  Peformed  Church  of 
Holland  in  1628.  Pev.  James  M.  Macdonald  claimed 
that  the  Presbyterian  church  of  Jamaica,  L.  I.,  was  "the 
oldest  Presbyterian  church  established  by  the  English  in 
America."  It  was  organized  in  1672. f  Dr.  Gil  left  grants 
that  this  is  "  more  than  possible."  The  Rev.  Francis  Ma- 
keniie  organized  a  church  at  Rehoboth,  Somerset  co.,  Md. 
"All  the  circumstances  point  to  the  establishment  of  that 
church  from  1684  to  1686.''      Tiiere  were  at  least  three 

*  American  Oyclopccdia.  Constitutional  History  of  Preabyterian  Church, 
pp.  23-26. 

f  Two  Centuries  in  the  History  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  Jamaica, 
pp.  57,  76. 


PRESBYTER! A NISM    IN    AMERICA.  15 

churches  in  Maryland  in  1691 :  at  Rehoboth,  Makemie 
Pastor;  at  Snow  Hill,  S.  Davis  Pastor;  and  at  Princess 
Ann,  T.  Wilson  Pastor.  Records  have  been  recently 
discovered  "incidentally  showing  the  establishment  of 
the  church  in  Maryland  to  have  been  the  first  upon  this 
continent."  * 

According  to  Dr.  Gillett,  the  Presbyterian  church  at 
Snow  Hill,  Md.,  organized  in  16<S4  by  Makemie,  was 
the  first  church  of  our  order  in  the  country.  But  he 
adds,  "  It  is  probable,  indeed,  that  other'  Presbyterian 
congregations  had  been  gathered  before  this  in  other 
localities."  t  The  church  of  Snow  Hill  was  "founded 
by  Makemie  after  he  had  established  the  church  at 
Rehoboth."!  Four  others  in  that  State  date  nearly 
as  far  back.  Those  in  Freehold  and  Woodbridge, 
in  New  Jersey,  were  established  in  1692.  The  first 
church  formed  in  Philadelphia  was  in  1698.  Presby- 
terian churches  were  planted  very  early  in  New  Cas- 
tle, Delaware,  and  in  Charleston,  South  Carolina.  §  A 
large  proportion  of  the  Puritans  who  settled  New 
England  were  Presbyterians,  but  the  first-comers  were 
Congregational  ists,  and  with  these  the  Presbyterians 
identified  themselves.  Presbyterian  churches  were, 
however,  early  planted  in  New  England.  The  first, 
probably,  was  in  1710  in  Mansfield,  Connecticut;  its 
members  were  ruled  by  eight  Elders;  its  first  Minister 
continued  in  his  pastorate  over  thirty-one  years.  In 
1741  a  Presbyterian  church  was  organized  at  Milford, 
Connecticut,  and  was  connected  with  the  Presbytery  of 

*  Second  General  Council  Presbyterian  Alliance,  p.  800. 
f  GilletCs  History  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  i.,  pp.  4,  5. 
X  Second  General  Council  Presbyterian  Alliance,  p.  801. 
§  Sprague's  Amials,  vol.  iii.,  Introduction. 


16  INTRODUCTORY. 

New  Brunswick.*  Besides  these  there  was  a  French 
Presbyterian  church  in  Boston,  Massacliusetts,  formed 
by  Huguenots  in  1687.  f 

Which  was  the  first  Presbytery  organized  in  America? 

The  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia,  which  was  organized 
probably  early  in  1704.  Tlie  first  page  of  the  records 
is  lost.  The  book  begins  with  a  fragment  of  the  min- 
utes of  a  meeting  of  the  Presbytery  held  at  Freehold, 
New  Jersey,  December  26,  1 706.  It  consisted  of  seven 
Ministers,  and  was  called  to  examine,  and  to  hear  the 
trial-pieces  of,  Mr.  John  Boyd  ;  and  on  the  next  Lord's 
Day,  December  29th,  the  Presbytery  ordained  him  "in 
the  public  meeting-house  of  this  place,  before  a  numer- 
ous assembly."!  In  1718  a  large  number  of  Presbyte- 
rians, with  four  Ministers,  came  to  New  England  from 
the  north  of  Ireland.  The  Ministers  and  Elders  assem- 
bled as  often  as  possible,  yet  somewhat  informally.  In 
cases  of  difficulty  they  sought  advice  from  the  Synod 
of  Ireland.  This  informal  Presbytery  continued  until 
1745,  when  it  was  regularly  organized  as  the  Boston 
Presbytery.     It  consisted  at  first  of  six  Miuistei-s.  § 

When  was  the  first  Synod  held  ? 

In  September,  1716,  the  Presbytery  declared  that  "it 
having  pleased  Divine  Providence  so  to  increase  our 
number  as  that,  after  much  deliberation,  we  judge  it 
may  be  more  serviceable  to  the  interest  of  religion  to 
divide  ourselves  into  subordinate  meetings  or  Presbyte- 
ries, constituting  one  annually,  as  a  Synod,  to  meet  at 
Philadelphia  or  elsewhere,  to  consist  of  all  the  members 

*  Sprague's  Annah,  vol.  iii.,  Introduction. 
f  Connecticut  Historical  Collections,  pp.  234,  o52. 
X  Records  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  p.  9. 
I  Sprague^s  Annals,  vol.  iii.,  Introduction. 


WESTMINSTER   STANDARDS    ADOPTED.  17 

of  each  subordinate  Presbytery  or  meeting  for  this  year 
at  least ;  therefore  it  is  agreed  by  the  Presbytery,  after 
serious  deliberation,  that  the  first  subordinate  meeting  or 
Presbytery,  to  meet  at  Philadelphia  or  elsewhere  as  they 
shall  see  fit,  do  consist  of  these  following  members  "  (six 
Ministers).  "And  the  second,  to  meet  at  New  Castle" 
(consisting  of  six  Ministers).  "And  the  third,  to  meet  at 
Snow  Hill"  (of  three  Ministers),  And  the  Ministers  on 
Long  Island  were  urged  to  use  their  best  endeavors  with 
brethren  settled  there  to  join  in  forming  a  fpurth  Presby- 
tery.   The  Synod  was  called  the  Synod  of  Philadelphia.* 

When  was  the  first  General  Assembly  held  ? 

In  1788  the  Synod  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia 
unanimously  resolved  to  divide  itself  into  four  Synods 
— viz.  the  Synod  of  New  York  and  New  Jersey,  the 
Synod  of  Philadelphia,  the  Synod  of  Virginia  and  the 
Synod  of  the  Carolinas;  and  "that  the  first  meeting 
of  the  General  Assembly,  to  be  constituted  out  of  the 
above  said  four  Synods,  be  held,  and  it  is  hereby  ap- 
pointed to  be  held,  on  the  third  Thursday  of  May,  1789, 
in  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  city  of  Phil- 
adelphia, at  eleven  o'clock  A.  m.,  and  that  Dr.  Wither- 
spoon,  or  in  his  absence  Dr.  Rodgers,  open  the  General 
Assembly  with  a  sermon,  and  preside  until  a  Moderator 
be  chosen."  The  former  of  these  Ministers  preached  and 
presided  during  the  organization,  and  the  latter  was  then 
elected  the  first  regular  Moderator.f 

When  were  the  Westminster  Standards  adopted  ? 

In  1729  the  Synod  of  Philadelphia,  the  original  Synod 
and  the  supreme  court  of  the  Church,  adopted  the  "  Con- 
fession of  Faith  "  and  the  "  Larger  and  Shorter  Catechisms  " 

*  Records  of  the  Preshytei-ian  Church,  p.  45. 
t  Ibid.,  p.  547 ;  Assembly's  Digesf,  pp.  280,  854. 
2*  B 


18  INTRODUCTORY. 

of  the  Westminster  Assembly,  and  agreed  that  all  Its 
members,  present  and  future,  shall  declare  their  agree- 
ment in  and  approbation  of  these  standards,  "as  being, 
in  all  the  essential  and  necessary  articles,  good  forms 
of  sound  words  and  systems  of  Christian  doctrine,"  and 
shall  also  adopt  them  as  the  confession  of  their  faith. 
The  same  day  all  the  members  of  Synod  complied  with 
this  order,  personally  adopting  these  standards,  except 
one  Minister,  who  gave  in  his  adherence  the  next  year. 

The  Synod  further  declared  that  "they  judge  the  'Di- 
rectory for  Worship,  Discipline  and  Government  of  the 
Church,'  commonly  annexed  to  the  Westminster  Confes- 
sion, to  be  agreeable  in  substance  to  the  word  of  God, 
and  founded  thereon,  and  therefore  do  earnestly  recom- 
mend the  same  to  all  their  members,  to  be  by  them  ob- 
served as  near  as  circumstances  will  allow  and  Christian 
prudence  direct."  * 

In  this  adopting  act  the  Synod  unanimously  declared 
that  they  did  not  receive  the  clauses  in  the  twentieth  and 
twenty-third  chapters  "in  any  such  sense  as  to  suppose 
the  civil  magistrate  hath  a  controlling  power  over  Synods 
with  respect  to  the  exercise  of  their  ministerial  authority, 
or  power  to  persecute  any  for  their  religion,  or  in  any 
sense  contrary  to  the  Protestant  succession  to  the  throne 
of  Great  Britain."  These  articles,  thus  excepted  to,  were 
altered  after  the  independence  of  the  United  Stiites  was 
established,  and  the  Synod  considered  "the  Church  of 
Christ  as  a  spiritual  society  entirely  distinct  from  the 
civil  government,  having  a  right  to  regulate  their  own 
ecclesiastical  policy,  independently  of  the  interposition 
of  the  magistrate."  t 

*  Records  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  pp.  94,  95. 
t  Prci^bytaimi  Digest,  p.  50. 


-^\'2y  "f*"*^ 


FOEM    OF    GOVERNMENT    ADOPTED.  19 

The  language  used  in  adopting  the  "  Directory  and  Form 
of  Church  Government^'  was  chosen  "because  we  believe 
the  general  platform  of  our  government  to  be  agreeable 
to  the  Sacred  Scriptures;  but  we  do  not  believe  that  God 
has  been  pleased  so  to  reveal  and  enjoin  every  minute 
circumstance  of  ecclesiastical  government  and  discipline 
as  not  to  leave  room  for  orthodox  churches  of  Christ,  in 
these  minutiae,  to  differ  with  charity  from  one  another." 

The  Synod,  preparatory  to  forming  the  General  Assem- 
bly, ordered  a  thorough  revision  of  the  standards,  and  a 
committee  was  appointed  to  digest  a  system  of  discipline 
and  government  adapted  to  the  state  of  the  Church  in 
this  country.  The  draught  of  the  "  Form  of  Government 
and  Discipline"  was  adopted  in  1788  as  the  constitution 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  America,  and  it  was  or- 
dered to  be  strictly  observed  as  the  rule  of  their  pro- 
ceedings by  all  the  inferior  judicatories.  It  was  resolved, 
"that  the  'Form  of  Government  and  Discipline' and  the 
'  Confession '  as  now  ratified  is  to  continue  to  be  our  con- 
stitution and  the  confession  of  our  faith  and  practice, 
unalterable  unless  two-thirds  of  the  Presbyteries  under 
the  care  of  the  General  Assembly  shall  propose  altera- 
tions or  amendments,  and  such  alterations  or  amend- 
ments shall  be  agreed  to  by  the  General  Assembly."* 
At  the  same  time  the  "  Directory  of  Worship  "  was  revised 
and  approved  and  ratified.  The  "Larger"  and  "Shorter 
Catechisms,"  with  a  slight  amendment  to  the  "  Larger," 
were  also  approved ;  and  these,  the  "Confession  of  Faith," 
the  "  Catechisms,"  the  "  Form  of  Government  and  Dis- 
pline"  and  the  "  Directory  of  Worship,"  were  declared  to 
be  "the  constitution  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the 
United  States  of  America."  The  proof-texts  and  notes 
*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  56. 


20  INTRODUCTORY. 

were  afterward  added,  but  were  not  made  part  of  the 
constitution.* 

When  were  these  Standards  revised  and  amended  ? 

In  1804  and  1805  a  revision  was  made,  which  resulted 
in  some  amendments  "to  explain,  render  more  practicable 
and  bring  nearer  to  perfection  the  general  system."  In 
1816  a  committee  was  appointed  to  revise  the  constitu- 
tion, and  in  1820  the  result  of  their  labors  was  sent 
down  to  the  Presbyteries,  and  was  by  them  adopted, 
thus  reducing  the  standards  to  their  present  form, 
modified  only  by  various  separate  amendments  from 
time  to  time  made.  The  action  of  the  Presbyteries 
was  ratified  by  the  General  Assembly  in  1821.f  In 
1878  a  committee  was  appointed  to  revise  the  consti- 
tution. In  1880  they  reported  progress,  presenting  a 
revised  "  Book  of  Discipline,"  and  in  1881  a  second 
revision,  which  was  referred  back  to  be  reported  com- 
pleted next  year,  and  they  were  relieved  of  the  work 
of  revising  the  "Confession  of  Faith." | 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  45-54. 

f  Assembly's  Digest,  p.  39.     See  p.  273.  J  See  p.  274. 


\ 


THE 

FORM  OF   GOVERNMENT 

AND 

FOEMS   OF   PROCESS 


PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 
OF  AMERICA, 

AS    AMENDED  AND    RATIFIED   BY   THE    GENERAL    ASSEMBLY 

IN  MAY,   1821. 


BOOK  I. 

OF   GOVERNMENT. 


CHAPTER   I. 

PRELIMINARY   PRINCIPLES. 

When  was  tMs  chapter  drawn  up  ? 

With  the  exception  of  the  first  sentence,  it  was  pre- 
pared by  the  Synod  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia  and 
prefixed  to  the  "  Form  of  Government"  in  1788,  as  that 
body  was  about  to  divide  itself  into  four  Synods  and 
give  place  to  the  General  Assembly,  which  met  the  next 
year.*  The  war  of  the  Revolution  had  closed,  having 
secured  the  independence  of  the  United  States  and  pro- 
duced changes  in  the  relations  of  the  Church  to  the 
State.  This,  together  with  the  increase  in  numbers,  led 
the  Synod  to  perfect  the  organization  of  the  Church,  and 

*  Form  of  Government,  ch.  i.,  note. 

21 


22  PRELIMINARY    PRINCIPLES. 

made  this  declaration  of  preliminary  principles  timely 
and  necessary.* 

What  was  the  object  of  declaring  these  principles  ? 

"  This,  it  is  hoped,  will  in  some  measure,  pi'event  rash 
misconstructions  and  uncandid  reflections,  which  usually 
proceed  from  an  imperfect  view  of  any  subject ;  as  well 
as  make  the  several  parts  of  the  system  plain,  and  the 
whole  perspicuous  arid  fully  understood.^' 

I.  What  is  the  first  principle  ? 

"  God  alone  is  Lord  of  the  conscience;  and  hath  left 
it  free  from  the  doctrine  and  commandments  of  men  which 
are  in  any  tiling  contrary  to  his  word,  or  beside  it  in  mat- 
ters of  faith  or  worship."  f 

What  is  Christian  liberty  ? 

It  is  not  license  to  "  oppose  any  lawful  power,  or  the 
lawful  exercise  of  it,  whether  it  be  civil  or  ecclesiastical," 
for  that  is  resistance  of  the  ordinances  of  God.  Nor  is 
it  a  right  to  hold  and  publish  opinions  "  contrary  to  the 
light  of  nature  or  to  the  known  principles  of  Christian- 
ity, whether  concerning  faith,  worship  or  conversation." 
Christian  liberty  is  the  unrestrained  and  entire  submis- 
sion to  God  as  his  will  is  made  known  in  nature  and 
revelation.  Its  end  is  "  that,  being  delivered  out  of  the 
hands  of  our  enemies,  we  might  serve  the  Lord  without 
fear,  in  holiness  and  righteousness  before  him  all  the 
days  of  our  life."  J 

What  is  the  right  of  private  judgment  ? 

The  liberty  and  obligation,  which  belong  to  every 
man,  of  examining  the  word  of  God,  and  determining 
for  himself  its  meaning.     It  is  denied  by  the  ritualists, 

*  Spracfue'a  Annals,  vol.  iii.,  Introduction. 

f  Confession  of  Faith,  ch.  xx.,  sect.  ii. ;  ch.  xxi.,  sect.  i. 

X  Confession  of  Faith,  ch.  xx. 


CHRISTIAN    LIBERTY.  23 

who  teach  that  "  the  chief  officers  of  the  Church,  with- 
out regard  to  character,  are  the  organs  of  the  Spirit,  and 
that  all  private  Christians  are  bound  to  submit  without 
hesitation  to  all  their  decisions."  "  But  according  to  the 
Scriptures  it  is  the  duty  of  every  Christian  to  try  the 
spirits  whether  they  be  of  God,  to  reject  an  Apostle,  or 
an  angel  from  heaven,  should  he  deny  the  faith ;  and 
of  that  denial  such  Christian  is  of  necessity  the  judge."  * 
The  right  of  private  judgment  is  therefore  a  divine  right, 
and  must  be  considered,  "  tVi  all  matters  that  respect  relig- 
ion, as  universal  and  unalienable."  No  creed  or  polity  should 
be  enforced  by  the  State  :  our  Church  does  "  not  even  wish 
to  see  any  religious  constitution  aided  by  the  civil  power,  fur- 
ther than  may  be  necessary  for  protection  and  security,  and, 
at  the  same  time,  be  equal  and  common  to  all  othei's." 

What  is  the  province  of  the  civil  government  ? 

It  has  no  right  to  impose  or  enforce  any  form  of  church 
polity,  nor  to  grant  any  special  countenance  or  support  to 
any  part  of  the  Church.  Its  duty  is  to  afford  equal  and 
common  protection,  that  men  may  worship  God  accord- 
ing to  their  consciences.f  '^  No  principle  has  been  better 
established  in  regard  to  this  nation  than  the  entire  sepa- 
ration of  the  Church  and  the  State ;  and  the  State  has 
no  more  right  to  compel  by  taxation  one  of  its  citizens 
to  conti'ibute  money  to  the  building  up  and  advancing  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  or  any  other  denomination  than  it 
Las  to  compel  us  to  unite  with  their  Church."  | 

n.  What  Is  the  second  principle  ? 

"  Every  Christian  Church,  or  union  or  association  of 

*  Church  Polity,  pp.  37  and  406. 

h  See  p.  18;  Church  of  God,  by  Stuart  Kobinson,  D.D.,  pp.  84-86; 
Church  Polity,  pp.  106-118 ;  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  121. 
X  Minutes  of  General  Assembly  1878,  p.  55. 


24  I'KKIJMliNAUY    PI{IN(nPLES. 

parlicular  churches,  is  entitled  to  declare  the  terms  of  ad- 
mission into  its  communion,  and  the  qualifications  of  its 
Ministers  and  members,  as  well  as  the  whole  system  of  its 
internal  government  which  Christ  hath  appointed^  This 
priuciple  is  essential  to  all  org-auiziitions.  Men  are  at 
lil)erty  to  refuse  to  be  connected  with  a  society,  but  if 
they  voluntarily  enter,  they  must  submit  to  its  terms  of 
admission  and  to  its  laws.  So  if  any  man's  conscience 
will  not  permit  him  to  concur  with,  or  passively  submit 
to,  the  standards  of  the  Church,  he  ''  shall,  after  suffi- 
cient liberty  modestly  to  reason  and  remonstrate,  peace- 
ably withdraw  from  our  communion,  without  attempting 
to  make  any  schism."  Provided  that  which  he  cannot 
accept  shall  be  judood  by  the  Church  to  be  indispensable 
to  Presbyterian  doctrine  or  polity.*  This  of  course  re- 
fers only  to  the  officers  of  the  Church,  who  are  required 
to  receive  and  adopt  the  standards  of  the  Church. f  But 
eouiniunicauts  are  received  on  profession  of  faith  in  the 
Lord  Jesus.| 

May  the  Church  err  in  the  exercise  of  this  right  ? 

Churches,  "  in  the  exercise  of  this  right,  may,  notwith- 
standing, err  in  making  the  terms  of  communion  either  too 
lax  or  too  narrow;  yet  even  in  this  case  they  do  not  in- 
fringe upon  the  liberty  or  the  rights  of  others,  but  only 
make  an  improper  use  of  their  oumJ' 

III.  What  is  the  thii'd  principle  ? 

"  That  our  blessed  Saviour,  for  the  edification  of  the  vis- 
ible Church,  which  is  his  body,  hath  appointed  ojicers,  not 
only  to  preach  the  gospel  and  administer  the  sacraments, 

*  Presbijtefian  Di'ijest,  p.  48. 
f  Form  of  Goi-frnmeiit,  ohs.  xiii.  and  xv. 

J  Diiidory  for  Worship,  ch.  ix. ;  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  307.  See  p. 
135. 


CHURCH    OFFICERS.  25 

but  also  to  exercise  discipline  for  the  preservation  both  of 
truth  and  duty." 

What  duties  have  the  officers  ? 

Those  which  were  appointed  by  Christ — viz.  "to 
preach  the  gospel"  " administer  the  sacraments  "  and  " ex- 
ercise discipline."  "It  is  incumbent  upon  these  officers  and 
upon  the  whole  Church,  in  whose  name  they  act,  to  censure 
or  cast  out  the  erroneous  and  scandalous;  observing,  in 
all  cases,  the  rules  contained  in  the  word  of  God."  Their 
authority  is  therefore  only  declarative,  anriouncmg  what 
Christ  has  revealed,  and  applying  his  law  according  to 
his  direction. 

rV.  What  is  the  fourth  principle  ? 

"  That  truth  is  in  order  to  goodness ;  and  the  great 
touchstone  of  truth,  its  tendency  to  promote  holiness,  ac- 
cording to  our  Saviour's  rule,  'By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know 
them:  " 

What  is  the  connection  between  truth  and  goodness  ? 

Truth  is  the  only  source  of  goodness,  and  goodness  is 
the  fruit  and  test  of  truth.  "No  opinion  can  be  more 
pernicious  or  more  absurd,  than  that  which  brings  truth 
and  falsehood  upon  a  level,  and  represents  it  as  of  no 
consequence  what  a  man's  opinions  are."  "  There  is  an 
inseparable  connection  between  faith  and  practice,  truth 
and  duty.  Otherwise  it  would  be  of  no  consequence  either 
to  discover  truth  or  to  embrace  it." 

V.  What  is  the  fifth  principle  ? 

"There  are  truths  and  forms,  with  respect  to  which  men 
of  good  characters  and  principles  may  differ."  And  in  all 
these  it  is  "  the  duty,  both  of  private  Christians  and  soci- 
eties, to  exercise  mutual  forbearance  toward  each  other." 

How  is  this  mutual  forbearance  to  be  manifested  ? 

By  recognition  of  the  Christian  and  church  character 
i 


26  PRELIMINARY    PRINCIPLES. 

and  relation  of  others  (Mark  9  :  38-40 ;  Rom.  14) ;  by 
patiently  teaching  the  way  of  the  Lord  more  perfectly, 
and  by  maintaining  and  practicing  the  truth,  but  with- 
out offence  and  without  judging  others  (Gal.  2  :  3-5, 11- 
14 ;  Rom.  14  : 1-23  ;  1  Cor.  10  :  32 ;  2  Cor.  6:3;  Matt. 
7:1;  James  4  :  11). 

May  persons  be  received  into  tlie  communion  of  the 
Cliurcli  who  do  not  fully  agree  with  the  Standards  of  the 
Church  ? 

All  are  to  be  received  "who  in  the  judgment  of  charity 
are  the  sincere  disciples  of  Jesus  Christ,"  making  pro- 
fession of  their  faith,  love  and  obedience  to  him.  They 
are  received  to  be  instructed  in  the  doctrines  of  the 
Church.* 

Must  the  officers  be  sound  in  faith  ? 

"It  is  necessary  to  mahe  effectual  provision  that  all  who 
are  admitted  as  teachers  be  sound  in  the  faith.'^  f 

VI.  What  is  the  sixth  principle  ? 

"  Tlie  election  of  persons  to  the  exercise  of  this  authority^ 
in  any  particular  society,  is  in  that  society.'' 

What  officers  can  be  appointed  in  the  church  ? 

"  The  character,  qualifications  and  authority  of  church 
officer's,  are  laid  dowh  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  as  well  as  the 
proper  method  of  their  investiftire  and  institution." 

By  whom  are  officers  to  be  chosen  ? 

The  right  of  election  belongs  to  those  over  whom  the 
authority  is  to  be  exercised.  Pastors,  Ruling  Eklers 
and  Deacons  must  be  elected  by  the  particular  churches 
in  which  they  hold  office.| 

*  Presbyterian  Digeat,  p.  307 ;  Kom.  14  :  1. 

f  Form  of  Government,  cbs.  xiii.,  xiv.  and  xv. ;  Presbyterian  Digest, 
pp.  48,  307. 

X  Form  of  Government,  chs.  xiii.,  xiv.,  xv. 


CHURCH    DISCIPLINE,  27 

Vn.  What  is  the  seventh  principle  ? 

^^All  chu7'ch  power,  whether  exercised  by  the  body  in  gen- 
eral, or  in  the  way  of  representation  by  delegated  authority, 
is  only  ministerial  and  declarative." 

What  is  meant  by  this  ? 

"  That  the  Holy  Seriptwes  are  the  only  rule  of  faith  and 
manners ;  that  no  church  judicatory  ought  to  pretend  to 
make  laws,  to  bind  the  conscience,  in  virtue  of  their  oion  au- 
thority; and  that  all  their  decisions  should  be  founded  upon 
the  revealed  will  of  God." 

Whence  comes  the  danger  in  the  exercise  of  church 
power  ? 

"All  synods  and  councils  may  err,  through  the  frailty 
inseparable  from  humanity  ;  yet  there  'is  much  greater  dan- 
ger from  the  usurped  claim  of  making  laws,  than  from  the 
right  of  judging  upon  laws  already  made  and  common  to 
to  all  who  profess  the  gospel ;  although  this  right,  as  neces- 
sity reqidres  in  the  present  state,  be  lodged  with  fallible  men." 

Vin.  What  is  the  eighth  principle  ? 

"  The  vigor  and  strictness  of  its  discipline  will  contribute 
lo  the  glory  and  happiness  of  any  Church." 

How  can  this  be  shown  ? 

"  Since  ecclesiastical  discipline  must  be  purely  moral  or 
spiritual  in  its  object,  and  not  attended  with  any  civil  effects, 
it  can  derive  no  force  whatever,  but  from  its  oion  justicej 
the  approbation  of  an  impartial  public,  and  the  counte- 
nance and  blessing  of  the  great  Head  of  the  Church  uni- 
versal." It  is  not  the  exercise  of  human  power,  but  the 
application  of  divine  laws.  It  is  enforced  by  appeal  to 
the  infallible  word  of  God  and  to  Christ  the  great  Head 
of  the  Church.  Its  object  is  to  secure  to  the  Church 
sound  doctrine,  godly  living,  encouragement  to  the  well- 
doing and  correction  to  the  erring. 


28  OF    THE    CHURCH. 

CHAPTER  11. 

OF   THE    CHURCH. 

I.  Who  established  the  Church  on  earth  ? 

''  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  noio  exalted  far  above  all  prin- 
cipality and  power,  hath  erected  in  this  world  a  kingdom, 
which  is  his  Church." 

When  was  the  Church  established  ? 

After  the  Fall,  when  the  first  promise  of  redemption 
was  made  (Gen.  3:15;  6:18).  The  Church,  while  pass- 
ing through  different  dispensations,  has  been  ahvays  the 
same,  having  had  but  one  system  of  doctrines,  more  and 
more  clearly  revealed ;  one  form  of  worship,  becoming 
simpler  and  more  spiritual  as  types  and  ceremonies  ac- 
complished their  appointed  office  and  ceased;  and  one 
form  of  government  in  its  essential  principles  (Acts  7  : 
38  ;  Luke  1  :  68-79  ;  Kev.  13:8;  John  4  :  21-26  ;  Ex. 
3  :  15,  16 ;  Num.  11  :  25 ;  Acts  14  :  23). 

The  "Form  of  Government"  adopted  in  1879  by 
the  (Southern)  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States 
says,  "The  visible  Church,  before  the  law,  under  the 
law,  and  now  under  the  gospel,  is  one  and  the  same,  and 
consists  of  all  those  who  make  profession  of  the  true  re- 
lifrion,  together  with  their  children."  * 

When  was  the  Christian  Church  established  ? 
After  the  crucifixion  and  resurrection  of  Christ  and 
the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost  (John  20  :  21,  22;  Acts  1  : 
8  ;  3  :  1-47). 
Is  Christ  stm  the  Head  of  his  Church? 
He  is,  and  ever  shall  be  (Eph.  1  :  20-22;  Ps.  68  : 
18;  Dan.  7  :  14). 

*  Book  of  Church  Order,  cli.  ii.,  sect.  ii. 


UNITY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  29 

n.  Of  whom  does  the  universal  Church  consist  ? 

"0/"  all  those  persons,  in  every  nation,  together  with 
their  children,  who  make  ^profession  of  the  holy  religion  of 
Christ  and  of  s^ibmi-ssion  to  his  laws.'' 

Wherein  consists  the  unity  of  the  Church  ? 

Not  in  outward  organization,  nor  in  allegiance  to  any- 
visible  head,  but  in  union  with  Christ,  belief  in  and 
profession  of  liis  religion,  and  submission  to  his  author- 
ity (John  10  :  16  ;  Eph.  4  :  1-16).  "This  visible  unity 
of  the  body  of  Christ,  tliough  obscured,  is  not  destroyed 
by  its  divisions  into  diiFerent  denominations  of  profess- 
ing Christians,  but  all  of  those  which  maintain  the  word 
and  sacraments  in  their  fundamental  integrity  are  to  be 
recognized  as  true  branches  of  the  Church  of  Jesus 
Christ."  This  is  the  declaration  of  the  Southern  Pres- 
byterian Church.* 

ni.  How  can  this  universal  Church  worship  ? 

"As  this  immense  multitude  cannot  meet  together  in  one 
place,  to  hold  communion,  or  to  worship  God,  it  is  rea- 
sonable and  warranted  by  Sculpture  example,  that  they 
should  be  divided  into  many  particular  churches." 

How  is  this  warranted  by  Scripture  ? 

God  has  so  ordained  under  all  dispensations.  While 
sacrifices  and  the  great  feasts  were  observed  only  at  Je- 
rusalem, the  people  assembled  every  Sabbath  day  in  their 
separate  synagogues  to  worship  and  to  be  taught  by  their 
Elders.  Christ's  custom  was  to  go  into  the  synagogue 
every  Sabbath,  and  the  Apostles  organized  churches 
throughout  Judsea,  Syria  and  the  whole  Roman  empire 
(Luke  4:16;  Gal.  1  :  21,  22  ;  John  4  :  23 ;  Acts  15  :  21). 

IV.  What  is  a  particular  church  ? 

"A  particular  church  consists  of  a  number  of  professing 

*  Book  of  Church  Order,  ch.  ii.,  sect.  ii. 
3* 


30  OF    THE    CHURCH. 

Christians,  with  their  offspring,  voluntarily  associated  to- 
gether, for  divine  worship  and  godly  living,  and  submitting 
to  a  certain  form  of  government." 

What  is'  the  object  of  their  association  ? 

"  Worship  " — prayer  and  praise  to  God,  and  instruction 
from  him — and  "godly  living  "  through  mutual  sympathy 
and  helpfuhiess  in  the  reception  and  application  of  the 
word  of  God. 

What  is  necessary  to  the  orderly  accomplishment  of  this 
object  ? 

"Submitting  to  a  certain  form  of  government."  It 
should  be  well  devised,  written  and  in  the  hands  of 
all  (Heb.  8:5;  Gal.  6  :  16).  Unwritten  usage  is  un- 
certain and  changeable,  and  causes  confusion. 

What  is  a  particular  Presbyterian  church  ? 

"A  particular  Presbyterian  church,  so  far  as  adults 
are  concerned,  is  constituted  and  organized,  as  such,  by 
a  number  of  individuals  professing  to  walk  together  as 
the  disciples  of  Jesus  Christ,  on  the  principles  of  the 
'  Confession  of  Faith  '  and  '  Form  of  Government  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church,'  and  the  election  and  ordination 
of  one  or  more  Ruling  Elders,  who,  by  the  ordination- 
service,  become  the  spiritual  rulers  of  the  persons  vol- 
untarily submitting  themselves  to  their  authority  in  the 
Lord."* 

How  may  a  new  church  be  formed  ? 

Persons  desiring  to  be  associated  as  a  church  should 
draw  up  and  sign  a  petition  to  Presbytery  expressing 
their  desire,  the  need  of  such  an  organization  and  the 
prospects  of  usefulness.  They  should  a])point  suitable 
persons  to  present  and  urge  their  petition  before  Pres- 
bytery. "The  organization  ought  always  to  be  made  bv 
*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  107. 


ORGANIZATION    OF    A    CHURCH.  31 

application  to  the  Presbytery  within  the  bounds  of  which 
the  church  to  be  organized  is  found,  unless  this  be  exceed- 
ingly inconvenient,  in  which  case  it  may  be  done  by  a 
duly-authorized  Missionary  or  a  neighboring  Minister 
of  the  gospel"  (1831).*     Appendix,  p.  519. 

Is  a  Minister,  ex-officio,  authorized  to  organize  churches 
without  an  order  of  Presbytery  ? 

"  Except  in  frontier  and  destitute  settlements,  where, 
by  '  Form  of  Government,'  ch.  xv.,  sect,  xv.,  it  is  made 
a  part  of  the  business  of  Evangelists  to  organize  churches, 
and  except  in  cases  where  it  is  exceedingly  inconvenient 
to  make  application  to  a  Presbytery  (for  which  provision 
is  made  in  the  act  of  Assembly  of  1831),*  it  is  not  the 
prerogative  of  a  Minister  of  the  gospel  to  organize 
churches  without  the  previous  action  of  some  Presby- 
tery directing  or  permitting  it ;  since  in  '  Form  of  Gov- 
ernment,' ch.  X.,  sect,  viii.,  to  form  now  congregations  is 
enumerated  among  the  powers  of  the  Presbytery,  and 
since  in  ch.  iv.,  'Of  Bishops  or  Pastors,'  no  mention 
is  made  of  any  such  power  being  lodged  in  the  hands 
of  an  individual  Minister."  f     Appendix,  pp.  519,  524. 

Who  should  sign  the  petition  ? 

All  persons  desiring  the  formation  of  the  church. 
The  petition  should,  however,  state  who  are  prepared 
to  become  members  of  the  new  church  on  certificate 
from  other  churches,  and  who  on  profession  of  faith, 
and  who  are  ready  to  contribute  to  its  support,  that 
all  the  facts  may  be  before  Presbytery. 

May  the  Presbytery  refuse  the  petition? 

It  may.  This  is  implied  in  the  powers  granted  to 
Presbytery.  J 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  107.  f  Fbid.,  p.  173. 

X  See  Form  of  Government,  ch.  x.,  sect,  vi  ii. ;  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  173. 


32  OF    THE    CHURCH. 

How  is  the  organization  effected  ? 

On  granting  the  petition  the  Presbytery  should  ap- 
point a  committee  of  Ministers  and  Elders  to  proceed 
to  the  place,  and  by  due  public  notice  call  the  petition- 
ers together  in  some  convenient  place.  A  sermon  is 
generally  preached  by  the  presiding  Minister  of  the 
committee,  and  "after  prayer  for  divine  direction  and 
blessing"  the  committee  "should  first  receive  from  those 
persons  desiring  to  be  organized  into  the  new  church,  if 
they  have  been  communicants  in  other  churches,  letters 
of  dismission  and  recommendation,  and  in  the  next  place 
examine  and  admit  to  a  profession  of  faith  such  persons 
as  may  offer  themselves  and  may  be  judged  suitable  to 
be  received  on  examination.  If  any  of  these  persons 
admitted  to  a  profession  on  examination  have  not  been 
baptized,  they  should  at  this  stage  of  the  business  be 
made  subjects  of  Christiau  baptism."  The  individuals 
thus  received  "should  now  by  some  public  act,  such  as 
rising,  joining  hands  or  subscribing  a  written  statement, 
agree  and  covenant  to  walk  together  in  a  church  relation 
according  to  the  acknowledged  doctrines  and  order  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church." 

"  The  next  step  is  to  proceed  to  the  election  and  ordi- 
nation of  Ruling  Elders  and  Deacons,  in  conformity  with 
directions  given  on  this  subject  in  the  '  Form  of  Govern- 
ment of  the  Presbyterian  Church.' 

"Deacons  are  to  be  elected  and  ordained  in  like 
manner  as  in  the  case  of  Ruling  Elders." 

These  officers  are  elected  by  the  communicants  and  or- 
dained by  the  presiding  Minister  of  the  committee  of 
Presbytery.  The  new  church  should  be  formally  de- 
clared to  be  duly  organized  a.s  "The Church  of 


ORGANIZATION    OF    A    CHURCH.  33 

place,  under  the  care  of  Presbytery." 

The  name  is  to  be  chosen  by  the  communicants.  The 
whole  service  should  be  closed  with  prayer  and  the  bene- 
diction. 

The  committee  should  report  at  the  next  meeting  of 
Presbytery,  and  on  motion  the  name  of  the  church  should 
be  enrolled.* 

The  (Southern)  Presbyterian  Church  directs  that  "these 
persons  should  ...  be  required  to  enter  into  covenant 
by  answering  the  following  questions  affirmatively  with 
uplifted  hand — viz. :  ^  Do  you,  in  reliance  on  God  for 
strength,  solemnly  promise  and  covenant  that  you  will 
walk  together  as  ah  organized  church  on  the  principles 
of  the  faith  and  order  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and 
that  you  will  study  the  purity  and  harmony  of  the  whole 
body?'  The  presiding  Minister  shall  then  say,  'I  now 
pronounce  and  declare  that  you  are  constituted  a  church 
according  to  the  word  of  God  and  the  faith  and  order  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States,  in  the 
name  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son  and  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  Amen."  f 

May  a  church  be  formed  beyond  the  bouiids  of  Presby- 
teries ? 

This  is  part  of  the  work  of  an  Evangelist  "  in  frontier 
and  destitute  settlements."  |  It  is  his  duty,  however, 
"as  soon  as  practicable  to  report  to  some  Presbytery, 
with  which  it  may  be  most  naturally  and  conveniently 
connected,  the  time  and  manner  of  its  organization, 
and  desire  to  be  received  under  the  care  of  said  Pres- 
bytery." §     Appendix,  p.  519. 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  107,  108. 
f  Book  of  Church  Order,  ch.  ii.,  sect.  v. 
X  Form  of  Government,  ch.  xv.,  sect.  xv. 
§  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  108.  See  page  31. 
C 


34  OF    THE   CHURCH. 

May  a  church  be  formed  without  the  presence  of  a  Min- 
ister? 

As  the  power  to  ordain  belongs  only  to  Ministers,*  a 
full  organization  is  impossible  without  the  presence  of  a 
Minister.  But  a  Presbyterian  congregation  may  be 
formed  by  those  desiring  to  be  associated  for  worship. 
They  should  as  soon  as  possible  apply  to  the  nearest 
Presbytery  for  recognition  and  full  organization,  and 
should  make  provision  for  regular  services.f 

What  should  be  done  when  suitable  persons  cannot  be 
found  to  be  chosen  as  Ruling  Elders  ? 

"  The  people  may,  and  ought  to,  obtain  a  preacher  of 
the  gospel  to  labor  among  them,  and  occasionally  to  ad- 
minister ordinances,  under  the  direction  of  some  Presby- 
tery," until  they  can  "  make  a  proper  choice  of  Ruling 
Elders "  and  "  have  them  regularly  set  apart  to  their 
office."  t 

What  is  an  imperfectly-organized  church  ? 

An  organized  church,  therefore,  has  recognized  com- 
municants and  ordained  officers.  Under  the  Plan  of 
Union  I  many  churches  were  formed  without  ordained 
Elders.  They  had  standing  committees,  which  to  some 
extent  performed  the  duties  of  a  Session.  The  "  com- 
mittee-men "  were  permitted  to  represent  their  churches 
in  the  higher  courts  until  1837,  when  the  Plan  of 
TJnion  was  abrogated.  They  continued,  however,  to  be 
recognized  by  the  N.  S.  Assembly.  One  of  the  terms  of 
reunion  was,  "  that  imperfectly -organized  churches  were 
to  become  thoroughly  Presbyterian  within  five  years."  § 
In  1880  the  Assembly  received  an  overture  asking  that 

*  Form  of  Governvient,  ch.  xiii.,  sect.  iv. 

f  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  108. 

i  See  p.  261.  §  See  p.  264. 


CONGREGATION.  35 

the  Presbyteries  be  enjoined  "  to  institute  immediate  and 
efficient  measures  whereby  the  churches,  which  at  the  re- 
union of  the  O.  S.  and  N.  S.  were  imperfectly  organized 
by  being  governed  by  committee-men  or  unordained  men, 
may  fully  and  speedily  complete  their  organization." 
The  Assembly,  however,  expressed  confidence  in  the  loy- 
alty, diligence  and  discretion  of  the  Presbyteries,  and  re- 
ferred the  matter  to  their  attention.*  In  1881,  referring 
to  this  action,  the  Assembly  declared  that  it  had  "no 
official  information  as  to  the  non-compliance,  by  any  of 
the  churches  here  referred  to,  with  the  Concurrent  Decla- 
rations. As,  however,  the  term  for  such  imperfectly-or- 
ganized churches  to  become  thoroughly  Presbyterian  has 
long  since  passed,  the  Assembly  feels  compelled  to  re- 
mind, in  this  particular,  any  and  all  delinquent  churches 
of  their  duty,  and  to  express  its  conviction  that,  in  the 
adoption  of  this  Concurrent  Declaration  by  the  Assem- 
blies of  1869,  both  bodies  are  solemnly  bound  to 
obey  it."t 

May  tlie  Presbytery  recognize  an  unorganized  congrega- 
tion? 

Yes.  Even  when  refusing  to  erect  the  petitioners  into 
a  congregation,  it  may  recognize  them  as  such,  and  grant 
them  supplies  for  their  pulpit.| 

Wliat  is  a  congregation  ? 

In  our  "Form  of  Government"  the  word  "  congregation  " 
is  sometimes  used  for  an  organized  church, §  but  often  a 
distinction  is  made  between  the  church  and  the  congre- 
gation. The  former  is  composed  of  believers  and  their 
children  under  regularly-ordained  officers.     The  congre- 

*  Minutes  General  Assembly  18S0,  \\  4G.  f  lb  ,d.,  1881,  p.  591 . 

X  Assembly's  Digest,  p.  55. 
§  Form  of  Government,  ch.  ix. 


36  OF   THE   CHURCH. 

gation  is  sometimes  used,  as  in  the  "  Directory  for  Worship," 
ch.  i.,  to  designate  those  who  assemble  in  one  place  for  pub- 
lic worship ;  and  sometimes,  as  in  "  Form  of  Government," 
ch.  XV.,  the  church,  together  with  those  who  contribute  to 
the  support  of  the  work  of  the  church,  and,  according 
to  the  custom,  or  the  charter  of  the  particular  church,  or 
the  laws  of  the  State,  form  a  recognized  body,  with  cer- 
tain powers,  chiefly  in  relation  to  the  holding  of  prop- 
erty. By  our  "  Form  of  Government "  every  communicant 
of  the  church  is  a  member  of  the  congregation,  and  has 
a  voice  in  everything  that  comes  before  it ;  *  but  the 
usage  or  charter  of  the  particular  church  may  determine 
who  else  may  be  members  of  the  congregation — some- 
times the  heads  of  families,  or  all  male  contributors,  or 
all  persons  who  do  anything  for  the  support  of  the 
church,  and  in  some  cases  only  those  males  wlio  are  ad- 
mitted by  vote  and  who  sign  articles  of  association.  The 
congregation,  thus  composed,  can  of  course  have  no  spir- 
itual jurisdiction,  but  can  consider  questions  of  property 
and  such  matters  as  the  "  Form  of  Government "  may  re- 
fer to  it,  as  the  choice  of  a  Pastor,  f 

Can  a  particular  clmrcli  organized  by  Presbytery  hold 
property  ? 

Not  without  being  incorporated  according  to  the  laws 
of  the  State.  "The  utmost  care"  should  be  taken,  in 
applying  for  charters,  "to  ask  for  nothing  w-hich,  if 
granted,  will  in  any  respect  contravene  the  principles 
or  order  of  our  Church."  "In  any  case  in  which  civil 
enactments,  heretofore  obtained,  do  militate  with  any 
of  the  principles  or  order  of  our  Church,"  the  congre- 
gations should  "endeavor,  as  soon  as  possible,  to  obtain 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  128. 

t  Form  of  Government,  cli.  xv.,  and  Presbyierian  Digest,  p.  405. 


CHURCH    CHARTERS.  37 

the  repeal  or  modification  of  such  enactments,  so  as  to 
make  them  consistent  with  the  ecclesiastical  order  and 
principles  of  the  Presbyterian  Church."  *  As  the  Pres- 
bytery has  oversight  of  everything  which  concerns  the 
prosperity  of  the  church  and  jurisdiction  over  the  con- 
gregatioUjf  the  charter  of  a  new  congregation  ought  to 
be  submitted  to  the  Presbytery  for  its  approval.  In 
some  States  there  is  a  general  law  of  incorporation 
under  which  a  congregation  may  become  a  body  cor- 
porate. In  such  cases  the  law  should  be»  carefully  ex- 
amined and  its  terms  minutely  carried  out.  When, 
however,  the  general  law  is  found  to  be  inconsistent 
with  the  Presbyterian  "  Form  of  Government/'  applica- 
tion should  be  made  for  a  special  charter.  | 

What  is  a  society  ? 

In  some  of  the  New  England  States  the  general  law 
of  incorporation  recognizes  a  body  called  the  "society," 
which  is  thus  made  a  legal  body  empowered  to  hold 
property  for  the  church.  It  generally  consists  of  cer- 
tain persons  (whether  communicants  or  not)  who  asso- 
ciate themselves  together  to  manage  the  finances  of  the 
congregation.  The  law  determines  the  condition  of 
membership  and  their  exercise  of  power.  In  the  Con- 
gregational Church  this  is  an  important  body,  and  holds 
its  meetings  independently  of  the  church.  In  many 
things  the  vote  of  the  church  can  have  no  effect  until 
the  society  meets  and  concurs,  as  in  the  election  of  a 
Pastor.  In  some  Presbyterian  churches  the  society  is  a 
distinct   body  (under  the   State   law)  from  the  congre- 

*  0.  S.  Assembly  ;  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  109. 
f  Form  of  Government,  ch.  x. 

X  For  a  form  of  an  act  of  incorporation  and  by-laws  see  Manual  of 
Presbyterian  Law  and  Usage,  pp.  307-314. 
4 


38  OF    THE    CHURCH. 

gation  and  from  the  church.  In  others  tho  word  is 
used  to  designate  the  congregation.  As  a  separate 
body,  however,  it  is  foreign  to  our  "  Form  of  Gov- 
ernment." 

Is  it  consistent  with  our  polity  that  a  board  of  Trustees 
should  hold  the  property  of  the  church  ? 

Trustees  may  hold  and  manage  the  property  of  the 
church  when  elected  according  to  the  principles  of  our 
"  Form  of  Government "  and  duly  incorporated.  They  can- 
not have  control  of  the  funds  collected  for  the  poor  of 
the  church  or  for  the  Lord's  table:  this  duty  belongs 
to  the  Deacons.  The  board  should  be  elected  according 
to  the  charter,  and  should  at  least  once  a  year  present  a 
full  report  to  the  congregation.  The  officers,  powers  and 
continuance  of  the  board  are  determined  by  the  charter. 
The  Pastor  of  the  church,  by  virtue  of  his  office,  has  no 
right  to  sit  with  or  preside  over  the  board.* 

By  whom  are  Trustees  to  be  elected  ? 

By  the  members  of  the  church,  male  and  female,  iv 
full  communion,  who  are  entitled  to  participate  and  vote 
in  all  meetings  for  business,  temporal  or  spiritual.  This 
seems  to  be  the  plain  teaching  of  the  "  Form  of  Govern- 
ment." The  O.  S.  Assembly  in  1866  declared  that  a 
communing  member  of  the  church  cannot  be  deprived 
of  his  right  to  vote  in  such  a  case  (which  involved 
church  property)  without  a  decision  of  the  church  Ses- 
sion, in  which  all  such  power  is  vested,  f  Frequently 
the  privilege  is  extended,  by  usage  or  the  charter,  to 
certain  non-communicants  who  contribute  to  the  support 
of  the  church.  The  N.  S.  General  Assembly  of  1864  said 
that  the  question  is  a  legal  one,  "to  be  determined  by 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  109. 
f  Minutes  1806,  p.  54. 


CHURCH    PROPERTY.  39 

local  laws  relating  to  chiirch  property  in  the  State  where 
the  church  lies."  * 

How  may  a  meeting  of  the  congregation  be  called  to  elect 
Trustees  or  to  consider  financial  affairs  ? 

According  to  the  charter  or  usage  of  the  church.  At 
such  meeting  the  congregation  may  elect  the  chairman 
and  other  officers.  The  Clerk  should  keep  a  full  record 
in  a  book  provided  for  that  purpose.  A  minority,  feel- 
ing aggrieved,  may  complain  to  the  Session  or  petition 
the  Presbytery.  No  vote  of  a  congregation  can  affect 
the  rights  of  a  member  of  the  church. f 

May  the  Deacons  take  charge  of  the  church  property? 

Yes,  if  in  accordance  with  the  charter  of  the  par- 
ticular church.  Some  regard  the  Deacons  as  the  only 
proper  Trustees  under  our  polity. |  In  1833  the  Assem- 
bly declared  that  in  addition  to  their  charge  of  the  char- 
ities of  the  church  for  the  poor,  "  the  temporalities  of  the 
church  generally  may  be  committed  to  their  care."§ 

In  what  other  way  may  church  property  be  held  ? 

In  some  cases,  for  special  reasons,  the  title  is  vested  in 
one  or  more  individuals.  This  is  often  done  temporarily 
until  a  charter  can  be  obtained,  or  until  a  sufficient  num- 
ber of  persons  can  be  found  in  the  congregation  who  are 
qualified  to  be  made  Trustees.  Individual  control  of 
church  property  is  never  advisable.  A  better  plan  is 
that  the  Presbytery  obtain  a  charter,  for  itself  or  for  a 
board  of  Trustees  chosen  by  it,  to  hold  property  within 
its  bounds,  in  trust  for  missionary  or  small  churches,  un- 
til they  be  able  to  organize  arid  take  charge  of  the  prop- 
erty.    This  is  frequently  done. 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  110. 

f  Manual  of  Presbyterian  Law  and  Usage,  pp.  36,  39. 

j:  Form  of  Government,  ch.  vi.  §  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  118. 


40  OF   THE    CHURCH. 

Wlat  power  have  Trustees  over  church  property  ? 

This  is  determined  by  the  charter  and  the  State  laws. 
"  They  have  no  moral  right  to  convert  the  house  of  God 
into  a  place  of  business  or  amusement."  So  the  O.  S. 
Assembly  declared  in  1860.  In  1863  it  gave  a  fuller 
deliverance :  that  "  the  custody  and  care  of  the  property 
pertains  to  them  for  the  uses  and  purposes  for  which 
they  hold  the  trust " — that  is,  "  for  the  worship  of  God 
and  the  employment  of  such  other  means  of  spiritual 
improvement  as  may  be  consistent  with  the  Scriptures 
and  according  to  the  order  of  the  Church."  "  The  Ses- 
sion is  charged  with  the  supervision  of  the  spiritual  in- 
terests of  the  congregation ;  and  this  includes  the  right 
to  direct  and  control  the  use  of  the  building  for  the  pur- 
poses of  worship."  "The  Trustees  are  bound  to  respect 
the  wishes  and  action  of  the  Session  as  to  the  use  and 
occupation  of  the  house  of  worship.  The  Session  is  the 
organ  or  agent  through  whom  the  Trustees  are  informed 
how  and  when  the  church  building  is  to  be  occupied ; 
and  the  Trustees  have  no  right  to  refuse  compliance."  If 
the  house  is  desired  for  other  purposes  than  for  worship, 
the  Trustees  may  refuse,  but  they  have  no  right  to  grant 
it  for  purposes  which  the  Session  disapprove.  If  they 
go  contrary  to  the  expressed  wishes  of  the  Session,  the 
proper  appeal  is  first  to  the  congregation,  to  whom  the 
Trustees  are  responsible,  tlien  to  the  Presbytery,  and 
finally,  if  necessary,  to  the  legal  tribunals.  The  N.  S. 
Assembly  in  1 864  declared  that  the  general  principle  of 
law,  that  the  trust  shall  be  executed  for  the  sole  use  of 
those  for  whom  it  is  held,  shall  govern  the  case.*  In 
1874  our  Assembly  decided  "that  the  constitution  of  our 
Church  charges  the  Session  with  the  supervision  of  the 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  109,  110. 


POWER   OF   TRUSTEES.  41 

vspiriiual  interests  of  the  congregation,  and  all  the  ser- 
vices and  matters  pertaining  thereto ;  and  that  any  action 
by  the  board  of  Trustees  unauthorized  by  the  congrega- 
tion, tending  to  annul  or  contravene  in  any  way  such 
supervision  and  control,  is  illegal  and  void ;"  "  that,  as 
regards  the  church  building,  Sabbath -school  and  lecture- 
room,  the  Trustees  have  no  right  to  grant  or  withhold  the 
the  use  of  either  against  the  wishes  or  consent  of  the 
Session."  *  The  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States 
in  1872  decided  "that  in  the  use  of  property  for  all  re- 
ligious services  or  ecclesiastical  purposes  the  Trustees  are 
under  the  control  of  the  church  Session."  "  They  are 
subject,  in  their  official  relation  to  the  property,  to  the 
control  of  the  Session  of  the  church."  f 


CHAPTER  III. 

OF   THE   OFFICERS   OF   THE   CHURCH. 

I.  By  whom  was  the  Christian  Church  collected  ? 

"  Our  blessed  Lord  at  first  collected  his  Church  out  of 
different  nations,  and  fo^^med  it  into  one  body,  by  the  mis- 
sion of  men  endued  with  miraculous  gifts,  which  have  long 
since  ceasedJ' 

What  were  these  officers  called  ? 

Apostles,  and  sometimes  the  Twelve  or  the  Disciples. 
Their  names  are  given  in  Matt,  10  :  2-4.  After  the 
death  of  Judas,  Matthias  was  numbered  with  the  Eleven 
(Acts  1  :  16-26),  and  Paul  was  called  to  be  the  Apostle 
to  the  Gentiles  (Rom.  1:1;  Gal.  1  : 1,  11-24;  2  :  7,  8). 

*  Minutes  General  Assembly  187Jf,  p.  84. 
t  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  111. 

4* 


42  OF  THE    OFFICERS    OF   THE    CHUKCII. 

What  was  an  Apostle  ? 

An  Apostle  was  an  immediate  messenger  of  Christ,  a 
witness  of  his  doctrine  and  of  his  resurrection  (Acts  1  : 
21,  22;  1  Cor.  9  :  1). 

What  was  the  special  work  of  the  Apostles  ? 

To  testify  of  Christ,  in  his  name  and  by  his  authority 
to  declare  the  doctrine,  worship  and  polity  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church,  and  to  superintend  its  establishment  and 
extension  (Acts  1:8;  26  :  16;  Gal.  1  :  12;  1  Cor.  5  : 
3-5;  2  Cor.  10  :  8 ;  11  :  28). 

Were  they  confined  to  this  work? 

No.  They  were  also  Ministers,  Elders  and  Fellow- 
servants  (Eph.  3  :  7 ;  1  Pet.  5:1;  Eom.  15  :  25). 

What  were  their  peculiar  gifts  ? 

(1)  Inspiration  (John  14  :  26;  16  :  13) ;  (2)  miraculous 
powers  (Matt.  10:8);  (3)  impartation  of  the  Holy  Gliost 
to  others  by  the  imposition  of  hands  (Acts  8  :  17,  18).* 

Have  these  ceased? 

Yes.  Miracles  were  intended  to  excite  attention,  to 
certify  the  messenger  as  having  special  divine  authority, 
and  to  illustrate  his  teaching.  Inspiration  was  to  secure 
infallibility  to  the  doctrine  as  spoken  and  written.  When 
the  Church  was  established,  and  fiirnislied  with  the  com- 
plete word  of  God  for  its  only  rule  of  faith  and  practice, 
the  Apostles'  work  was  finished  and  their  peculiar  gifts 
were  no  longer  needed.  The  Church  and  the  world  has 
long  recognized  the  fact  that  inspiration,  miracles  and 
the  impartation  of  the  Holy  Ghost  have  ceased.  Tlie 
Roman  Catholic  Church  still  claims  these  gifts,  but  only 
in  modified  forms;  as  the  infallibility  of  certain  utterances 
of  the  Pope,  occasional  minor  miracles,  and  a  grace  of 
orders  by  the  imposition  of  hands.     Even  these  are  not 

*  What  is  Preshyterianismf  p.  53. 


SUCCESSORS    OF    THE    APOSTLES.  43 

credited  by  many  in  that  Church.  The  Catholic  Apos- 
tolic Church  (Irvingite)  and  the  Latter- Day  Saints  claim 
to  possess  a  restoration  of  the  apostolic  office  and  gifts, 
but  the  claim  is  not  admitted  by  others. 

Are  there  any  successors  of  the  Apostles  ? 

No.  None  can  be  immediate  witnesses  of  Christ's 
resurrection  and  doctrine,  none  have  their  peculiar  gifts, 
and  none  can  do  their  special  work.  In  fact,  none  other 
were  appointed  by  Christ  or  recognized  by  the  early 
Church.  False  apostles  and  antichrists  were- foretold  and 
rebuked  (2  Cor.  11:13;  2  Thess.  2  :  3,  4).  The  Roman 
Catholic  Church  and  the  Episcopal  churches  claim  that 
besides  the  above  work  the  Apostles  labored  as  diocesan 
Bishops,  having  supreme  authority  over  certain  districts 
and  over  other  Ministers ;  that  they  alone  had  power  of 
ordination ;  that  this  office  and  work  continue  in  the 
Church ;  and  that  their  Bishops  are  the  successors  of 
the  Apostles.  But  the  Apostles  were  not  confined  to 
districts ;  they  did  not  ordain  successors.  The  term 
"Bishop"  Avas  applied  under  them  and  in  the  early 
Church  to  Pastors.  Ordination  Avas  performed  by  the 
Presbytery,  and  the  parity  of  the  ministry  was  con- 
stantly insisted  upon.* 

Were  there  any  other  extraordinary  officers  in  the  Chris- 
tian Church  ? 

Prophets,  Mdio  "diffiired  from  the  Apostles  in  that 
their  inspiration  was  occasional,  and  therefore  their 
authority  as  teachers  subordinate"  (1  Cor.  14  :  l-40).t 
Sometimes  they  foretold  future  events. 

Why  have  these  ceased  ? 

The  Church  has  the  completed  word  of  God. 

*  See  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles. 
f  Hodge  on  Ephesians,  p.  149. 


44  OF   THE    OFFICERS    OF   THE   CHURCH. 

Did  Christ  intend  these  to  be  temporary  ? 

He  made  no  provision  for  their  continued  work  or 
recognition  in  the  Church.  After  the  apostolic  age  they 
ceased,  afid  so  have  their  qualifications,  inspiration  and 
miracles. 

n.  How  many  ordinary  and  perpetual  officers  are  there  ? 

"  The  ordinary  and  perpetual  officers  in  the  Church  are 
Bishops  or  Pastors;  the  representatives  of  the  people,  iisu- 
ally  styled  Ruling  Elders;  and  Deacons." 

Were  these  designed  to  be  perpetual  ? 

Yes.  Preaching,  spiritual  oversight  and  the  care  of 
the  poor  are  their  several  functions,  and  correspond  to 
permanent  needs  in  the  Church.  Provision  was  made  for 
the  continuance  of  these  officers  by  election  and  ordina- 
tion. Qualifications  were  given,  and  directions  for  the 
performance  of  duties.* 

What  officers  were  in  the  synagogue  ? 

The  Ruler  of  the  synagogue,  and  a  bench  of  Elders 
who  assisted  him  in  the  oversight  of  the  people. f 

Were  these  transferred  to  the  Christian  Church  ? 

This  system  had  long  been  recognized  in  the  Church 
as  of  divine  authority,  and  both  Jews  and  Gentiles  were 
familiar  with  it.  The  synagogues  were  the  proper  and 
most  convenient  places  for  the  preaching  of  the  gospel. 
Often  the  Elders  of  the  synagogue  and  the  mass  of  the 
people  became  Christian,  and  the  synagogue  became  the 
church.  The  long-established  government  and  the  rec- 
ognized officers  were  continued  and  sanctioned  by  the 
Apostles.  Where  there  was  no  synagogue,  or  when  it 
did  not  become  christianized,  the  Apostles  formed  the 

*  See  below,  under  Chs.  IV.,  V.,  YI. 
t  Primitive  Church  Officers,  pp.  11,  12;  Miller  on  Pr 
pp.  10,  11. 


BISHOP.  45 

diurch  after  the  same  model,  with  Pastor,  Elders  and 
Deacons.* 


CHAPTER  IV. 

OF   BISHOPS   OR   PASTORS. 


Wiat  is  the  first  office  in  the  Church  ? 

"  Tlie  pastoral  office  is  the  first  in  the  Church,  both  for 
dignity  and  usefulness,^'  as  shown  by  the  names,  authority, 
qualifications,  duties  and  rewards  connected  with  it  in 
Scriptures.f 

By  what  names  is  this  officer  called  ? 

"  The  person  who  fills  this  office  hath,  in  Scripture,  ob- 
tained different  names  expressive  of  his  varix)us  duties."  He 
is  termed — 

(1)  ^^  Bishop,"  "as  he  has  oversight  of  the  flock  of  Christ" 
(Acts  20  :  28). 

(2)  '^Pastor,"  "as  he  feeds  them  with  spiritual  food"  (1 
Pet.  5:2;  Jer.  3  :  15). 

(3)  "Minister"  "as  he  serves  Glirist  in  his  Church"  (1 
Cor.  4  :  1). 

(4)  "Presbyter  or  Eldet^"  "  as  it  is  his  duty  to  be  grave 
and  prudent,  and  an  example  of  the  fiock,  and  to  govern 
well  in  the  house  and  kingdom  of  Christ"  (1  Pet.  5:1;  Tit. 
1  :  5;  1  Tim.  5  :  1,  17,  19). 

(5)  "Angel  of  the  Church,"  "  as  he  is  the  messenger  of 
God"  (Rev.  1  :  20;  2:1). 

(6)  "Ambassador,"  "  as  he  is  sent  to  declare  the  will  of 
God  to  sinners,  and  to  beseech  them  to  be  reconciled  to  God 
through  Christ"  (2  Cor.  5  :  20). 

*  See  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  f  Epistles  to  Timothy. 


46  OF   BISHOPS   OR   PASTORS. 

[7)  "Steward  of  the  mystefi'ies  of  God,^^  "  as  he  dispenses 
the  manifold  grace  of  God  and  the  ordinances  instituted  by 
Christ"  (Luke  12  :  42;  1  Cor.  4  :  1,  2). 

Is  lie  properly  a  Bishop  ? 

He  is  so  called  in  Scripture.  The  qualifications  are 
ascribed  to  him.  The  work  of  oversight  and  ordination 
are  committed  to  him.  No  permanent  superior  officer  is 
described.* 

Are  ministers  officially  equal? 

The  parity  of  the  ministry  is  taught  in  Scripture. 
There  is  no  higher  office.  All  have  the  same  qualifica- 
tions, titles  and  work. 

What  churches  hold  a  threefold  ministry  ? 

The  Episcopal  churches — Bishop,  Priest,  and  Deacon, 
each  having  separate  functions.  The  Bishop,  having 
oversight  and  authority  over  the  other  Ministers  and  over 
the  churches  within  a  certain  district,  and  the  powers  of 
confirmation  and  ordination  ;  the  Priest,  being  pastor  of 
a  local  church,  subject  to  his  Bishop,  and  having  direc- 
tion over  the  Deacon  ;  the  Deacon,  being  the  assistant  of 
the  Priest  in  parish  work,  and  in  preaching  if  he  be  li- 
censed to  do  so.  The  Romish  Church  adds  to  these  the 
Pope,  as  having  supreme  and  infallible  authority  over 
the  whole  Church  as  the  vicar  of  Christ  and  successor 
of  Peter. 

Is  a  Minister  ever  called  a  "Priest"  in  the  Scrip- 
tures? 

There  were  Priests  under  the  ceremonial  dispensation, 
as  the  types  of  Christ  and  his  work.  But  since  the  only 
High  Priest  and  Mediator  Jesus  Christ  fulfilled  these 
types,  the  name  "Priest"  is  nowhere  given  to  a  Minister 

*  What  is  Pi-esbytei'ianisrnf  pp.  36-62;  Primitive  Church  Offices,  pp. 
29-67;  Miller  on  Presbylerianixm,  pp.  13-21. 


MINISTERS.  47 

in  the  Christian  Church,  nor  are  the  functions  of  sacri- 
fi'^ial  service  ascribed  to  liim.* 

Wliat  are  the  peculiar  duties  of  the  Minister  ? 

(1)  Preaching  the  word ;  (2)  administering  the  sacra- 
ments ;  (3)  blessing  the  people ;  and  (4)  ordination. 

What  duties  does  he  share  with  Ruling  Elders  ? 

Government  in  the  particular  church  and  in  the  vari- 
ous judicatories,  t 

What  duties  does  he  share  with  Deacons  ? 

The  care  of  the  poor,  distribution  of  the  charities  of 
the  church,  and  the  oversight  of  the  temporalities  of  the 
congregation. 

In  all  his  duties,  what  is  his  relation  to  Christ  and  to 
the  Church? 

He  is  the  Minister  of  Christ,  accountable  to  him,  sub- 
ject only  to  him  and  to  his  brethren  in  the  Lord.  He 
is  not  a  lord  of  God's  heritage,  but  placed  over  the 
church  for  its  edification  (1  Cor.  3:5;  4  :  1-5 ;  Acts 
15:6-31;  1  Pet.  5  :  3).| 

Does  his  office  depend  upon  his  connection  with  a  partic- 
ular church? 

A  Minister  may  be  ordained  sine  titulo,  to  do  general 
missionary  work.  But  generally  he  is  ordained  when,  as 
a  Probationer,  he  shall  have  preached  so  much  to  the  sat- 
isfaction of  a  congregation  that  he  shall  be  regularly 
called  by  them,  and  set  over  them  by  the  Presbytery.  § 
When,  for  any  cause,  the  pastoral  relation  is  dissolved 
by  the  order  of  Presbytery,  his  authority  and  duties  in 
that  congregation  cease,  but  his  office  as  a  Minister  con- 
tinues. He  may  still  preach,  administer  the  sacraments, 
bless  the  people,  perform  the  marriage  service,  take  part 

*  See  p.  72.  t  Form  of  Government,  ch.  v. 

X  Ibid.,  chs.  xiv.  and  xv.       |  Ibid.,  ch.  xv. 


48  OF    BISHOPS   OR   PASTORS. 

in  ordinations  and  sit  in  the  church  courts.*  In  the 
Presbyterian  churches  of  Scotland  only  Pastors  and 
Teachers  of  theology  are  permitted  to  vote  in  the  church 
courts.     ■ 

What  is  a  Pastor  ? 

He  is  a  Minister  regularly  installed  over  one  or  more 
churches  by  the  Presbytery. f 

What  is  a  Stated  Supply  ? 

A  Licentiate  or  Minister  who  has  a  temporary  charge 
of  a  church,  sometimes  engaged  by  the  church  for  a  few 
months,  and  sometimes  year  by  year.  This  should  never 
be  done  without  the  permission  of  Presbytery,  which  has 
the  oversight  of  the  churches  and  Ministers.  It  is  some- 
times permitted  in  feeble  churches  in  hopes  of  uniting  the 
churches,  or  that  the  Stated  Supply  may  be  called  as 
Pastor,  or  in  case  of  the  prolonged  sickness  or  absence 
of  the  Pastor.  The  Stated  Supply  has  no  authority  in 
the  church,  nor  has  he  a  seat  or  vote  in  Session.^  When 
the  relation  of  a  Stated  Supply  to  a  church  is  continued 
beyond  the  emergency,  it  is  an  irregularity,  an  evil,  and 
is  inconsistent  with  our  polity. §  The  O.  S.  and  N.  S. 
Assemblies  agree  in  the  above.  Since  the  reunion  the 
General  Assembly  declared  "  that  Stated  Supplies  should 
not  preach  in  the  pulpits  of  any  Presbytery  without  its 
consent,  and  when  the  consent  is  refused  the  Presbytery 
to  v/hich  such  Minister  serving  as  Stated  Supply  be- 
longs, being  notified,  should  recall  him  within  its  own 
bounds;"  that  the  Stated  Supply  has  not  the  right, 
})ower  or  prerogative  in  the  church  Session  as  a  Pas- 
tor; ||  "that  he  has  such  rights  and  prerogatives  as  may 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  163.  f  Forrii  of  Government,  ch.  xv. 

X  See  pp.  127,  370.  \  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  112,  113. 

II  Minutes  General  Assaubly  187^,  pp.  83,  85. 


PASTORS.  49 

be  expressly  conferred  on  him  by  the  Presbytery,  and 
no  other."  * 

What  are  co-Pastors  ? 

They  are  two  or  more  Ministers  associated  together 
as  Pastors  of  one  or  more  churches,  having  equal 
authority,  f 

What  is  a  Pastor  emeritus? 

When  a  Pastor  has  long  served  a  church,  but  through 
age  or  infirmity  cannot  continue  his  labors,  he  may  re- 
ceive this  honorable  title  when  the  church  ^re  unwilling 
that  the  pastoral  relation  should  be  formally  dissolved. 
With  the  approbation  of  Presbytery  he  is  relieved  from 
all  the  duties  of  his  office,  and  another  Minister  is  called 
to  be  their  acting  Pastor.  His  salary  may  in  whole  or 
in  part  be  continued.  It  is  not  usual  that  he  should 
claim  a  seat  in  the  Session  or  exercise  any  official  juris- 
diction in  the  church. 

What  is  a  Pastor's  Assistant  ? 

He  may  be  a  Probationer  or  an  ordained  Minister 
chosen  by  the  church  or  Pastor,  with  the  approbation 
of  Presbytery,  to  assist  the  Pastor,  for  a  time  or  per- 
manently, in  the  discharge  of  his  duties.  As  he  is  to 
labor  in  the  church,  the  congregation  should  be  con- 
sulted in  the  choice  of  an  Assistant,  even  if  the  Pastor 
alone  becomes  responsible  for  his  maintenance.  As  he 
is  to  assist  the  Pastor,  he  should  be  consulted  in  the 
selection,  even  if  the  congregation  pays  the  whole  sal- 
ary of  the  Assistant.  He  has  no  seat  in  Session  nor 
jurisdiction  in  the  congregation.  In  his  duties  he 
acts  in  the  name  and  under  the  direction  of  the  Pastor. 
In  Scotland  he  is  called  the  Pastor's  Helper. 

*  Minutes  General  Assembly  1878,  p.  120. 
f  Form  of  Government,  ch.  ix.,  sect.  v. 
5  D 


50  OF    BISHOPS    OR    PASTORS. 

What  is  a  Minister  without  charge  ? 

He  is  a  Minister  who  has  been  released  from  his 
pastoral  charge,  and  is  not  yet  settled  over  another 
congregation. 

What  is  a  Minister  "  in  transitu "  ? 

He  is  a  Minister  who  has  been  dismissed  from  one 
Presbytery,  and  has  not  yet  presented  his  letter  to  be 
received  into  another  Presbytery.  During  this  tran- 
sition he  "is  always  to  be  considered  as  remaining 
under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Presbytery  which  dis- 
missed him  until  he  actually  becomes  a  member  of 
another."  * 

What  is  a  Pastor  elect  ? 

A  Minister  or  Probationer  who  has  been  called  to  be  a 
Pastor  of  a  church  is  called  Pastor  elect  until  he  either 
declines  the  call  or  is  actually  installed.f 

What  is  an  Evangelist? 

He  is  a  ]Minister  regularly  ordained,  but  not  settled 
over  a  particular  church.  His  work  is  "to  preach  the 
gospel,  administer  sealing  ordinances  and  organize 
churches  in  frontier  or  destitute  settlements."  J 

The  title  is  often  given  to  Ministers  without  charge, 
who  even  in  large  cities  preach  to  the  masses,  and  to 
those  who  are  engaged  for  a  longer  or  shorter  time  to 
hold  in  churches  or  communities  revival  services. 

Laymen,  with  more  or  less  ecclesiastical  authority  or 
recognition,  and  those  who  without  such  supervision,  on 
their  individual  responsibility,  are  performing  evangel- 
istic work,  are  also  often  called  Evangelists. 

What  is  a  Missionary? 

Missionaries  are  ordained  men,  generally  Evangelists, 

*  Book  of  Discipline,  cli.  x.,  sect.  ii.  f  See  p.  127. 

X  Form  of  Government,  ch.  xv.,  sect.  xv.     See  p.  356. 


MISSIONARIES.  51 

sent  out  by  the  Church  to  labor  among  the  heathen. 
Home  Missionaries  are  Ministers,  Evangelists  or  Pas- 
tors in  feeble  churches  or  in  destitute  places,  either  with- 
in or  beyond  Presbytery,  commissioned  by  the  Board 
of  Home  Missions.  Those  employed  by  the  missionary 
department  of  the  Board  of  Publication  were  formerly 
called  Colporteurs,  but  now  are  "Missionaries  of  the 
Board  of  Publication."* 

What  is  a  Chaplain  ? 

He  is  a  Minister  appointed  by  the  government,  with 
the  approbation  of  Presbytery,  to  labor  as  a  Minister  in 
the  army  or  navy  or  in  prisons  or  asylums.f  He  is 
accountable  for  his  doctrine  and  character,  not  to  the 
government,  but  to  the  Presbytery,  as  are  all  other 
Ministers. 

"What  is  an  itinerant  Missionary  ? 

A  Minister  or  Licentiate  sent  for  a  few  months  on 
preaching-tours  in  destitute  parts  of  the  country.  In 
the  early  part  of  the  history  of  our  Church  this  was 
frequently  done.  The  Synod  or  Assembly  marked  out 
the  route  and  designated  the  places  to  be  visited  and 
the  time  to  be  employed.  Pastors  were  required  by 
the  O.  S.  Assembly  to  spend  some  portion  of  their  time 
in  itinerating  labors.  | 

How  else  may  a  Minister  be  engaged? 

Ministers  are  often  called  to  take  charge  of  the  general 
work  of  the  Church — as  Secretaries  of  its  various  Boards, 
as  Professors  of  its  theological  schools,  as  Presidents  and 
Teachers  of  its  colleges  and  academies,  and  as  Editors  of 
its  publications.   They  are  always  subject  to  their  several 

*  Minutes  General  Assembly  187 Jf,  pp.  31,  60. 

f  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  164. 

I  Assembly's  Digest,  pp.  326,  328,  346,  358. 


52  OF   RULING   ELDERS. 

Presbyteries,  except  so  far  as  their  official  fidelity  is  con- 
cerned ;  for  this,  of  conrse,  they  are  responsible  to  the 
body  which  appointed  them.  In  the  discharge  of  their 
liuties  they  should  give  great  prominence  to  their  charac- 
ter and  influence  as  Ministers  of  Christ.  This  is  insisted 
upon  in  the  "  Form  of  Government "  adopted  by  the 
Southern  Presbyterian  Church.* 

What  is  a  retired  Minister  ? 

A  Minister  is  said  to  be  honorably  retired  when,  because 
of  sickness,  old  age  or  for  any  other  reason,  he  ceases  to 
be  en2:ao:ed  in  ministerial  work.  He  cannot  demit  his 
office.f  He  is  still  responsible  to  Presbytery  and  a 
member  of  it.  J  He  is  not  a  layman,  and  cannot  be 
elected  Elder  or  Deacon.  §  He  cannot  be  enrolled  as  a 
communicant  of  a  particular  church,  nor  vote  at  church 
meetings,  1|  except  on  financial  questions,  when,  if  he  be 
a  pewholder,  as  such  he  may  vote,  provided  the  charter 
of  the  said  church  permits  pewholders  to  vote.  ^  In  the 
General  Assembly  Minutes  such  are  designated  H.  R. 


CHAPTER  V. 

OF   RULING   ELDERS. 


What  are  Ruling  Elders? 

"Muling  Elders  are  properly  the  representatives  of  tJie 
people,  chosen  by  them  for  the  purpose  of  exercising  gov- 
ernment and  discipline  in  conjunction  with  Pastors  or 
Ministers.^' 

*  Book  of  Church  Order,  ch.  iv.,  sects,  v.,  vi. 
t  See  p.  209.  J  See  p.  220.  §  See  pp.  57  and  66. 

11  See  p.  130.  H  See  p.  38. 


ORIGIN    OF   THE    OFFICE   OF    EULING    ELDERS.      53 

When  was  this  office  introduced  into  the  Church? 

It  has  been  the  permanent  office  in  the  Church  under 
all  dispensations,  even  under  the  Abrahamic.  (See  Gen. 
24:  2;  50:  7;  Ex.  3  :  16;  4:  29,30;  12  :  21 ;  18:12; 
Deut.  5  :  23;  Ps.  107  :  32,  etc.)  Under  the  Mosaic  ritual 
the  Elders  were  the  recognized  representatives  of  the 
people.  They  were  systematically  arranged  into  courts 
having  various  jurisdictions,  and  the  highest  court  of 
seventy  Elders  was  a  court  of  appeal  (Ex.  18  :  21-25; 
Num.  11  :  16,  25;  Ex.  24  : 1.)*  These  Elders  and  courts 
are  frequently  referred  to  in  the  after  history.  When 
the  synagogues  were  established  (the  date  of  which  is 
uncertain)  these  Elders  were  connected  with  the  different 
synagogues,  and  were  called  the  Rulers  of  the  synagogue 
(Matt.  5  :  22 ;  26  :  3 ;  Luke  7:3;  Acts  4  :  8,  23 ;  6  : 
12;  23  :  14;  24  :  1 ;  25  :  15).  At  first  the  converts  to 
Christianity  were  made  from  Jews,  and  later  from  Gen- 
tiles who  were  accustomed  to  the  polity  of  the  syna- 
gogues, which  were  established  in  almost  every  city  in 
the  Roman  empire.  Often  a  whole  synagogue  became 
a  Christian  church,  retaining  its  form  of  government. 
The  other  churches  were  formed  in  like  manner  (Acts 
14  :  23;  20  :  17;  1  Tim.  5  :  1,  17,  19;  Tit.  1  :  5;  James 
6:14;  1  Pet.  5:1,  5).t 

Many  of  the  Fathers  speak  of  Elders  as  distinct  from 
Ministers,  ruling  as  representatives  of  the  people.  |  The 
Waldensian  and  other  ancient  churches  which  were  re- 
garded by  Rome  as  heretical,  but  which  maintained  pure 
doctrine,  M^orship  and  polity,  have  always  retained  this 

*  Miller  on  Ruling  Elders,  pp.  29-34. 

f  Primitive  Church  Offices,  pp.  1-28 ;  Miller  on  Presbyterianism,  pp. 
9- 13 ;  Miller  on  Ruling  Elders,  pp.  48-72. 
X  Miller-on  Ruling  Elders,  pp.  72-106. 
6* 


54  OF    RULING    ELDERS. 

office.  It  is  adopted  by  almost  all  the  Reformed 
churches.* 

"This  office  has  been  understood,  by  a  great  part  of  the 
Protestant  Reformed  churches,  to  be  designated  in  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  by  the  title  of  governments;  and  of  those  who 
rule  well,  but  do  not  labor  in  the  word  and  doctrine "  (1 
Cor.  12  :  28;  Rom.  12  :  7,  8  ;  1  Tim.  5  :  17).  It  is  the 
continuation  in  the  Christian  Church  of  the  office  so 
well  known  in  the  Old  Testament.  "  The  whole  con- 
gregation" and  the  "Elders  of  the  congregation"  are 
constantly  interchanged  as  meaning  the  same,  as  in  Lev. 
4:13,  15.  The  Elders  were  the  representatives  of  the 
people,  and  as  such  exercised  the  prerogative  of  ruling. 
This  principle  of  ruling  by  representatives  and  the  office 
of  Elders  were  introduced  into  the  Christian  Church  from 
the  synagogue  by  the  Apostles.f 

The  "  Form  of  Government "  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
of  Scotland  says  :  "As  there  were  in  the  Jewish  Ciuirch 
Elders  of  the  people  joined  with  the  Priests  and  Levites 
in  the  government  of  the  Church,  so  Christ,  who  hath 
instituted  government  and  governors  ecclesiastical  in  the 
Church,  hath  furnished  some  in  his  Church,  besides  the 
Ministers  of  the  word,  with  gifts  of  government,  and 
with  commission  to  exercise  the  same  when  called  there- 
unto, who  are  to  join  with  the  Minister  in  the  govern- 
ment of  the  Church.  Which  officers  Reformed  churches 
commonly  call  Elders."  * 

Is  this  office  distinct  from  that  of  the  ministry  ? 

The  quotation  above  from  the  standard  of  the  Church 

*  Miller  on  RuUikj  Elders,  pp.  107-147 ;  Authorized  Standards  of 
the  Free  Church  of  Scotland,  p.  307. 

f  Church  Polity,  p.  262 ;  Miller  on  Presbyterianism,  p.  9 ;  Primitive 
Church  Offices,  Essay  I.;  Divine  Right  of  Church  Government,  p.  172. 


ELDERS   NOT    MINISTERS.  55 

of  Scotland  declares  the  office  to  be  distinct.  This  is  the 
doctrine  of  our  own  "  Form  of  Government."  *  They 
have  different  qualifications,  are  chosen  by  difl^erent  bodies. 
Elders  are  ordained  by  a  Minister,  and  Ministers  by  the 
Presbytery.f  Elders  are  subject  to  the  Session,  the  Min- 
ister to  the  Presbytery.^  Elders  cannot  take  part  in  the 
ordination  of  Ministers,  nor  can  they  administer  the 
sacraments.  §  Elders,  called  to  the  ministry,  must  be 
reordained.f  Ministers  are  not  permitted  to  serve  as 
Elders  except  in  emergencies  on  missioriary-ground.  || 
In  the  Church  of  Scotland,  Ministers  are  often  chosen 
by  churches  to  represent  them  in  the  General  Assembly, 
but  it  is  not  on  the  supposition  that  Ministers  and  Elders 
are  of  the  same  office.  The  "Form  of  Government"  is 
distinct  on  that  point. 

Wherein  do  they  differ  from  Ministers  ? 

Ministers  are  "  messengers  of  God  "  and  "  ambassadors 
of  Christ."  Elders  are  representatives  of  the  people. 
They  perform  their  work  "  in  conjunction  with  Pastors 
or  Ministers"  and  under  their  direction.  They  have  no 
power  to  preach  or  administer  the  sacraments.^ 

What  are  their  duties  ? 

"  To  exercise  government  and  discipline  in  conjunction 
with  Pastors  or  Ministers"  in  the  different  courts  of  the 
Church,  and  to  assist  the  Pastor  in  the  oversight,  instruc- 
tion and  visitation  of  the  people,  "studying  the  peace, 
unity  and  purity  of  the  Church."  **     If  there  be  no  Pas- 

*  See  chs.  iii.,  iv.  and  v. 

f  Form  of  Government,  chs.  xiii.,  xiv.  and  xv. 

X  Ibid.,  ch.  xiii.,  sect.  vii. ;  Book  of  Discipline,  chs.  iv.  and  v. 

§  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  116,  117. 

II  Minutes  of  the  G.  A.  1S74,  P-  84 ;  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  339,  340. 

^  Directory  for  Worship,  ch.  vii.,  sect,  i.,  and  ch.  viii. 

**  Forjn  of  Government,  ch.  xiii.,  sect.  iv. 


56  OF   RULING    ELDERS. 

tor,  for  the  time  being  the  government  and  discipline  de- 
volve upon  them,  and  under  direction  of  Presbytery 
they  must  see  that  the  pulpit  is  supplied  from  Sabbath 
to  Sabbath ;  and  if  this  be  impracticable,  they  must 
themselves  conduct  the  service,  "  select  the  portions  of 
Scripture  and  of  the  other  books  to  be  read  " — "  works  of 
such  approved  divines  as  the  Presbytery  within  whose 
bounds  they  are,  may  recommend  and  they  may  be  able 
to  procure."  * 

By  whom  are  they  chosen  ? 

"77*63/  are  the  representatives  of  the  'people,  chosen  hy 
them"  " in  the  mode  most  approved  and  in  use  in  that 
congregation," f  In  1822  the  Assembly  said  that  "it 
would  be  most  desirable  to  have  the  communicants  only 
as  the  electors  of  Ruling  Elders,  yet  as  it  appears  to  be 
the  custom  in  some  of  the  churches  in  the  Presbyterian 
connection  to  allow  this  privilege  to  others,"  the  election 
by  the  whole  congregation  should  not  be  considered  void. 
In  1830  it  decided  that  unbaptized  persons  could  not  vote 
for  Elders.  In  1855  the  O.  S.  Assembly  judged  "  it  most 
consonant  to  our  '  Form  of  Government '  that  communi- 
cants only  should  vote  for  Rul  ing  Elders."  J  The  Southern 
Presbyterian  Church  permits  only  communicants  in  good 
standing  to  vote  for  church  officers.  § 

Who  may  be  chosen  ? 

"  In  all  cases  the  persons  elected  must  be  male  mem- 
bers in  full  communion  of  the  church  in  which  they  are 
to  exercise  their  office."  ||  They  must  be  in  good  stand- 
ing.    A  communicant  under  discipline  cannot  be  elected. 

*  Form  of  Government,  oli.  xxi.  f  JbkL,  ch.  xiii.,  sect.  ii. 

X  Presbyleriun  Dn/esI,  p.  312.     See  p.  283. 

§  Book  of  Church  Order,  ch.  vi.,  sect,  iii.,  sub-sect.  iv. 

II  Form  of  Government,  cli.  xiii.,  sect.  ii. 


ELECTED    AND   ORDAINED.  57 

An  unemployed  Minister  in  the  congregation  is  not  a 
member  of  a  particular  church,  and  is  not  eligible.  So 
the  O.  S.  and  N.  S.  Assemblies  decided,  and  so  did  the 
Assembly  in  1874.*     Appendix,  p.  520. 

In  what  church  may  he  exercise  his  office  ? 

Only  in  the  congregation  in  which  he  has  been  elected, 
and  in  those  courts  above  the  Session  to  which  he  is  sent 
as  delegate.  An  Elder  without  charge  has  no  jurisdic- 
tion. JSTor  can  he  hold  office  in  two  different  churches  at 
the  same  time.* 

Is  election  by  the  people  necessary  ? 

Persons  nominated  and  ordained  by  a  Minister  are  to 
be  considered  "as  private  church  members  only,  unless 
they  be  duly  elected  and  set  apart  as  church  officers 
hereafter."  f 

Must  they  be  ordained  ? 

"  The  Minister  shall  proceed  to  set  apart  the  candidate 
by  prayer  to  the  office  of  Ruling  Elder."  |  In  1868  the 
N.  S.  Assembly  declared  that  an  Elder  elect  cannot  sit  in 
the  Session  or  exercise  his  office  until  he  be  ordained.  § 
This  ordination  may  be  either  by  prayer,  or  by  prayer 
with  the  laying  on  of  hands  by  the  Minister.  It  is  left 
to  the  discretion  of  each  church  which  method  to  adopt, 
but  as  the  imposition  of  hands  "  is  plainly  in  accordance 
with  apostolic  example,  it  is  the  opinion  of  the  Assem- 
bly (in  1833)  that  it  is  proper  and  lawful."  || 

To  what  court  is  he  responsible  ? 

To  the  Session,  being  a  member  of  the  particular 
church.     When,  however,  the  only  Elder  or  Elders  of 

*  Minutes  of  General  Assembly  187^,  p.  84 ;  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  339. 
f  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  115,  123  ;  Form  of  Government,  chs.  x.,  xi. 
and  xii.  J  Form  of  Government,  ch,  xiii.,  sect.  iv. 

§  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  124.  ||  Ibid.,  p.  347. 


58  OF    RULING    ELDERS. 

t/ie  churcli  be  accused,  the  Presbytery  is  the  court  to  cite 
and  try.*  When  an  Elder  has  become  incapable  of  serv- 
ing the  church  to  edification,  the  Session  may  take  action 
with  his  concurrence,  or  by  advice  of  Presbytery. f  In 
1869  the  O.  S.  Assembly  decided  that  the  Presbytery  has 
power  to  visit  particular  churches,  to  inquire  into  their 
state,  and  to  order  whatever  pertains  to  their  spiritual 
welfare,  without  being  requested  by  the  Session,  even  to 
declaring  that  an  Elder  shall  cease  to  act.J 

Is  the  office  perpetual  ? 

"  The  offices  of  Ruling  Elder  and  Deacon  are  both  per- 
petual, and  cannot  be  laid  aside  at  pleasure."  Nor  can 
an  Elder  be  divested  of  his  office  but  by  deposition.  But 
he  may,  under  certain  circumstances,  cease  to  be  an  act- 
ing Ruling  Elder. § 

How  may  an  Elder  cease  to  be  an  acting  Elder  ? 

(1)  By  death. 

(2)  When  "  by  age  or  infirmity  he  become  incapable  of 
performing  the  duties  of  his  office,"  with  his  consent  or 
by  advice  of  Presbytery  the  Session  may  relieve  him.t 

(3)  "  Though  chargeable  with  neither  heresy  nor  im- 
morality, he  may  become  unacceptable,  in  his  official  ca- 
pacity, to  a  majority  of  the  congregation ;"  with  his  con- 
currence or  by  advice  of  Presbytery  the  Session  may 
take  order,  stating  the  reasons  of  their  action.  || 

(4)  If  guilty  of  heresy  or  immorality,  he  may  be  de- 
posed after  trial  before  Session. 

(5)  He  may  and  should  resign  if  he  cannot  acquiesce 
in  the  decisions  of  the  superior  courts.T[     App.,  p.  520. 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  118. 

f  Form  of  Government,  ch.  xiii.,  sect.  vii. 

X  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  350.     See  pp.  293,  294. 

§  Form  of  Oovernment,  ch.  xiii.,  sect.  vi. ;  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  348, 

II  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  171.  1|  Ibid.,  p.  349. 


RESTORED    RULING    ELDER.  59 

(6)  By  advice  of  a  superior  court  he  may  resign  to 
jDromcte  the  peace  of  the  church.* 

(7)  "  His  dismission  by  letter  from  a  church  termi- 
nates his  official  relation  to  that  church."  So  the  N.  S. 
Assembly  decided  in  1867.t  This  is  the  teaching  of 
"Form  of  Government,"  ch.  xiii.,  sect,  ii.,  and  is  implied 
by  the  order  of  the  O.  S.  Assembly  in  1856,  which  re- 
quires an  election  and  service  of  installation  in  the 
church  to  which  he  is  dismissed  before  he  can  act  as 
Elder  there.  J 

(8)  By  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  service,  when  he 
has  been  elected  to  exercise  his  functions  for  a  limited 
time,  according  to  section  viii.  of  chapter  xiii.,  adopted 
in  1875.  § 

May  an  Elder  without  charge  sit  in  a  churcli  court  ? 

He  cannot.  II  Yet  if  elected  on  the  term -eld  ei'ship 
scheme,  after  his  term  has  expired  his  advice  may  be 
sought  by  the  Session  (but  he  cannot  vote),  and  he  is 
"  entitled  to  represent  that  particular  church  in  the 
higher  judicatories  when  appointed  by  the  Session  or 
Presbytery."  ^ 

Does  restoration  to  church  privileges  of  an  Elder  who 
has  been  suspended  from  them,  restore  to  office? 

"  The  two  things  are  distinct."  "  He  cannot  be  re- 
stored to  the  functions  of  his  office  without  a  special  and 
express  act  of  the  Session  for  that  purpose,  with  the  ac- 
quiescence of  the  church."  || 

If  he  has  been  dismissed  to  another  church,  and  re- 
turns to  the  church  in  which  he  was  formerly  Elder,  he 
must  be  re-elected  and  installed,  as  his  dismission  termi- 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  350.  f  Ibid.,  p.  352. 

X  Ibid.,  p.  347.  ^  See  p.  294.         ||  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  349. 

1[  Form  of  Government,  ch.  xiii.,  sect.  viii.     See  p.  297. 


60  OF   DEACONS. 

nated  his  relation  to  that  church.  This  seems  plain  from 
the  "  Form  of  Government"  and  the  usage  in  the  Church.* 
The  N.  S.  Assembly,  however,  in  1868  decided  that  if 
an  Elder  should  return,  after  three  years'  absence,  with  an 
unused  letter  of  dismission,  and  give  satisfactory  reasons 
for  not  using  it,  his  restoration  to  membership  restores 
him  to  his  official  position. f 

What  are  Elders  in  other  churches  ? 

In  the  Episcopal  Church  there  are  properly  no  Elders, 
though  the  Priests  are  sometimes  so  called.  The  name 
"Priest"  is  discarded  by  the  Reformed  Episcopal  Church, 
and  "  Presbyter"  is  adopted  in  its  place.|  The  Methodists 
call  their  Ministers,  Preachers  or  Elders.  The  Presiding 
Elders  are  Elders  chosen  by  the  Bishops  to  preside  over 
a  district  for  not  more  than  four  years,  to  take  oversight 
of  churches  and  Ministers,  and  be  assistants  to  the  Bish- 
op.§  In  the  Reformed  (Dutch)  and  in  the  Lutheran 
churches  the  Elders  correspond  to  our  Ruling  Elders. [j 


CHAPTER  VI. 

OF   DEACONS. 


What  are  Deacons  ? 

"The  Scriptures  clearly  point  out  Deacons  as  distinct 
offi,cers  in  the  church,  whose  business  it  is  to  take  care  of 
the  poor,  and  to  distribute  among  them  the  collections  which 

*  See  act  of  O.  S.  Assembly  in  1849.     Assembly's  Digest,  p.  69. 

f  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  352. 

X  Book  of  Common  Prayer  of  the  Reformed  Episcopal  Church. 

§  Discipline  (1880),  f  164-173. 

II  Formula  of  Government,  cli.  iii.,  sect.  vi. 


ORIGIN   OF  THE   OFFICE.  61 

may  he  raised  f 07-  their  use.  To  them  also  may  be  properly 
committed  the  management  of  the  temporal  affairs  of  the 
church." 

When  was  this  office  introduced  into  the  Church  ? 

There  is  no  mGntion  of  Deacons  under  the  Old-Tes- 
tament dispensation.  Tlie  contributions  of  money  were 
under  the  care  of  the  Levites  and  Priests  (Ex.  38  :  21  ; 
Num.  1  :  50,  53 ;  Ezra.  8  :  24-30,  33).  Special  provis- 
ions were  made  under  the  law  for  the  relief  of  the  poor 
by  individual,  instead  of  official,  contributiolis  and  care 
(Ex.  23  :  11 ;  Lev.  19  :  9,  10 ;  25  :  25-55).  Eev.  James 
M.  Wilson,  D.  D.,  in  a  pamphlet  on  "The  Deacon"  (p. 
23),  says:  "In  the  language  of  Dr.  McLeod, ' There  were 
several  officers  in  the  Jewish  synagogue,  and  these  were 
authorized  to  conduct  the  public  worship,  preserve  order 
and  manage  the  finances  of  the  congregation '  ('Ecc.  Cat.,' 
Ques.  51).  This  latter  officer  was  the  Chazan  or  Deacon 
of  the  synagogue  ('  Prideaux's  Connections,'  part  i.,  book 
vi.),  and  in  the  words  of  Prideaux,  '  the  Chazanim — that 
is.  Overseers — who  were  also  fixed  Ministers  and  under 
the  Rulers  of  the  synagogue,  had  charge  and  oversight  of 
all  things  in  it,  kept  the  sacred  books  of  the  law  and  the 
prophets  and  other  Holy  Scriptures,  as  also  the  books  of 
their  public  liturgies,  and  all  other  utensils  belonging  to 
the  synagogue.'  The  order  of  the  synagogue  was,  as  all 
Presbyterians  hold,  the  model  of  that  of  the  Church  under 
the  New-Testament  dispensation.  In  the  synagogue  was 
an  officer  that  attended  to  the  poor,  had  oversight  of  the 
place  of  worship  and  managed  the  finances."  We  have 
in  Acts  6  :  1-6  the  history  of  the  introduction  of  this 
office  into  the  Christian  Church,  the  occasion,  necessity 
of  the  office,  the  qualifications  and  duties  of  Deacons, 
their  election  and  ordination. 

6 


62  OF    DEACONS. 

Was  this  office  designed  to  be  permanent  ? 

It  is  evident  from  Acts  6  :  1-6  that  the  office  was  not 
introduced  because  of  a  temporary  emergency.  Tiie  worJs 
committed  to  Deacons  is  a  permanent  one,  for  the  poor 
we  shall  have  with  us  always  (Matt.  26  :  11),  the  Church 
is  enjoined  to  make  provision  for  them  (Gal.  2  :  10),  and 
contributions  always  will  be  given  for  the  relief  of  Chris- 
tians and  for  the  extension  of  the  Church,  as  in  the  days 
of  the  Apostles.  The  qualifications — honesty,  good  re- 
port, being  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  wisdom,  being 
the  husband  of  one  wife,  ruling  his  children  and  own 
house  well  (Acts  6  :  3;  1  Tim.  3  :  12) — are  not  those 
which  indicate  an  extraordinary  and  temporary  office. 
Deacons  Avere  recognized  as  regular  officers  of  fully-or- 
ganized churches  (Phil.  1:1;  Kom.  12  :  7  ("  ministry," 
diaxovtav) ;  1  Pet.  4:11  (ec  tk;  diaxove7).  The  office  has 
always  continued  in  the  Church  in  some  form,  was  rec- 
ognized by  all  the  Reformers,  and  is  continued  in  all 
branches  of  the  Church. 

It  is  "perpetual,"  in  the  sense  that  "it  cannot  be  laid 
aside  at  pleasure.  No  person  can  be  divested  of  it  but 
by  deposition."  But  under  certain  circumstances  (see 
below)  a  Deacon  may  cease  to  exercise  his  office  and  to 
be  an  acting  Deacon.* 

What  are  the  duties  of  Deacons  ? 

"  To  take  care  of  the  poor,  and  to  distribute  among  them 
the  collections  which  may  be  raised,  for  their  use.  To  them 
also  may  be  properly  committed  the  management  of  the 
temporal  affairs  of  the  church.''  This  includes  visitation 
of  those  in  need,  inquiring  into  their  real  wants,  helping 
them  to  obtiiin  work  and  comforting  them.  Being  church 
officers,  they  should  always  unite  with  temporal  relief 

*  Form  of  Government,  ch.  xiii.,  sect.  vi. ;  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  .'^48. 


DUTIES    OF    DEACONS.  63 

spiritual  consolation,  instruction  and  prayer.  In  many 
churches  it  is  the  duty  of  the  Deacons  to  take  charge  of 
the  communion  set,  and  to  bring  it,  with  clean  table-linen, 
to  the  church  on  the  communion  Sabbath,  and  from  the 
poor  fund,  or  some  other  designated  fund,  to  provide  tJie 
bread  and  wine  for  the  Lord's  table. 

What  funds  are  committed  to  their  charge  ? 

The  poor  fund,  however  this  may  be  raised.  The  col- 
lection taken  at  the  administration  of  the  Lord's  Supper 
is  usually  devoted  to  the  poor  fund,  which  ds  increased 
by  other  means.  "  Over  charities  collected  for  any  other 
purpose  than  those  specified  (for  the  poor)  their  office 
gives  them  no  control."  The  poor  to  be  cared  for 
are  those  outside  of  as  well  as  in  the  church.*  The 
Southern  Presbyterian  Church  makes  it  part  of  the 
duty  of  the  Deacons  to  collect  and  distribute  "  the 
oiferings  of  the  people  for  pious  uses  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Session."  f 

"  The  temporal  affairs  of  the  church"  would  include  all 
money  raised  for  the  support  of  the  ordinances  of  the 
church,  and  for  the  erection  and  preservation  of  the 
buildings  belonging  to  it.  All  this  may  properly  be 
committed  to  the  Deacons.  The  "  First  Book  of  Disci- 
pline of  the  Kirk  of  Scotland  "  says :  "  The  Deacons 
should  take  up  the  whole  rents  of  the  Kirk,  disposing 
of  them  to  the  ministry,  the  schools  and  poor  within 
their  bounds,  according  to  the  appointment  of  the. Kirk." 
"  Under  the  patrimony  of  the  Kirk  we  comprehend  all 
things  given  or  to  be  given  to  the  Kirk  and  service  of 
God,  as  lands,  buildings,  possessions,  annual  rents,  and 
all  such-like  wherewith  the  Kirk  is  doted,  either  by  do- 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  118. 

t  Book  of  Church  Order,  ch.  iv.,  sect.  ii. 


64  OF   DEACONS. 

nations,  foundations,  mortifications,  or  any  other  lawful 
titles  of  kings,  princes  or  any  persons  inferior  to  them, 
together  with  the  continual  oblations  of  the  faithful." 
This  patrimony  should  be  distributed  by  the  Deacons  to 
the  Pastor,  the  poor,  the  sick  and  strangers,  and  to  the 
upholding  of  other  affairs  of  the  Kirk.  "  We  add 
hereunto  the  schools  and  schoolmasters."  "  To  whom 
we  join  also  Clerks  of  Assemblies,  .  .  .  syndics  or  pro- 
curators of  the  Kirk  affairs,  takers-up  of  psalms  and 
such  like  other  ordinary  officers  of  the  Kirk."  *  It  is 
usual  in  our  Church  to  place  all  these  temporal  af- 
fairs in  the  charge  of  Trustees,  and  the  Deacons  have 
charge  only  of  the  poor  fund.  When  the  Deacons  have 
the  care  of  the  property  of  the  church,  they  are  under 
the  same  limitations,  etc.  in  their  management  thereof  as 
the  Trustees  are  in  other  churches. f 

To  whom  are  the  other  collections  committed? 

The  Session  of  the  church  receive  from  the  General 
Assembly  and  the  other  courts  recommendations  of  va- 
rious objects  to  be  presented  to  the  people  for  their  be- 
nevolent contributions.^  The  collections  are  sent  by  the 
Session  to  the  Treasurers  of  the  several  Boards  as  the 
church  may  contribute  to  each.  Sometimes  monthly  col- 
lections are  received  for  all  the  Boards,  and  the  sum-total 
is  divided  by  the  Session  among  the  Boards  according  to 
the  ratio  recommended  by  the  General  Assembly. 

Has  the  Session  any  direct  control  over  the  poor 
fund? 

To  the  Deacons  belongs  the  sole  responsibility  of  its 
management  and  distribution.  The  Session  "  may  ad- 
vise the  Deacons  respecting  the  use  of  funds."     So  the 

*  Assembly's  Digest,  p.  64.  f  See  pp.  38-41. 

X  See  p.  109. 


DEACON    NOT    MINISTER    NOR    ELDER.  65 

O.  S.  Assembly  decided  in  1857.  The  question  does 
not  seem  to  have  come  before  the  N.  S.  Church,  or  the 
Assembly  since  the  reunion.  But  the  language  of  the 
book  seems  plain  that  the  poor  fund  is  entirely  in  the 
hands  of  the  Deacons.* 

How  do  Deacons  differ  from  Ministers  ? 

They  are  laymen.  They  labor  chiefly  for  a  certain 
class  in  the  congregation.  They  have  no  seat  in  the 
church  courts.f  They  have  no  part  in  ordination, 
preaching  the  word,  administering  the  saci'aments,  or 
participating  in  the  government  of  the  church. 

How  do  they  differ  from  Ruling  Elders? 

The  Elders  have  the  spiritual  oversight  of  the  whole 
church  ;  the  Deacons  have  the  care  of  the  temporal  wants 
of  a  part,  and  sometimes  the  charge  of  the  property  and 
revenue  of  the  congregation. 

Did  not  the  Deacons  ordained  by  the  Apostles  preach  ? 

Not  as  Deacons.  The  object  of  their  appointment  was 
that  the  Apostles  and  Ministers  might  be  relieved  from 
serving  tables,  and  that  they  might  give  themselves  con- 
tinually to  prayer  and  to  the  ministry  of  the  word  (Acts 
6  :  2-4).  The  qualifications  required  are  not  aptness  to 
teach,  etc.,  but  honest  report,  prudence,  gravity,  temper- 
ance, faith,  consistency,  being  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
and  not  greedy  of  lucre  (Acts  6  :  3 ;  1  Tim.  3  :  8,  9, 10). 
Stephen  "did  great  wonders  and  miracles  among  the 
people,"  and  he  did  speak  with  wisdom  and  spirit,  both 
in  his  daily  intercourse  with  men  and  in  his  defence 
when  accused  of  blasphemy  before  the  Sanhedi'im  (Acts 
7).  It  may  be  questioned  whether  his  defence,  speaking 
with  wisdom  and  spirit,  and  disputations,  were  of  the 
nature  of  preaching,  the  official  and  authoritative  proc- 

*  See  p.  70.  f  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  118. 

6*  E 


66  OF    DEACONS. 

lamation  of  the  gospel.  But  if  so,  there  is  no  indica- 
tion that  he  preached  as  a  Deacon,  for  preacliing  is  never 
elsewhere  referred  to  the  diaconate.  Even  in  the  Epis- 
copal churches  the  Deacon  is  not  permitted  to  preach  by 
virtue  of  his  office,  but  must  receive  a  license  to  do  so, 
from  the  Bishop  after  due  examination.  Stephen  proba- 
bly held  two  offices — that  of  Deacon  and  that  of  Evan- 
gelist, as  did  Philip,  another  of  the  seven  (Acts  21  :  8). 

Who  may  be  chosen  Deacons  ? 

"  In  all  cases  the  persons  elected  must  be  male  members 
in  full  communion  in  the  church  in  wliich  they  are  to 
exercise  their  office."  *  A  Minister,  therefore,  though  with- 
out charge,  not  being  a  member  of  a  particular  church, 
cannot  be  elected  Deacon.  This  Avas  reaffirmed  by  the 
N.  S.  Assembly  in  1865  and  1869  ;t  and  the  principle 
is  stated  (the  application,  however,  is  to  the  eligibility  to 
the  office  of  Ruling  Elder)  by  the  General  Assembly  of 
1874.  t 

May  a  woman  be  elected  ? 

"  In  all  cases  the  persons  elected  must  be  male  mem- 
bers." *  Eev.  Charles  Hodge,  D.  D.,  says :  "  In  addi- 
tion to  Deacons,  we  know  that  Deaconesses  -were  in  some 
instances  appointed"  (in  the  apostolic  Church),  "but  we 
have  no  evidence  that  it  was  the  universal  practice."  § 
Phoebe  is  called  by  Paul  "a  servant  of  the  Church" 
(oidxouov  r^c  ixxkr^acat:).  Tryphoena,  Tryphosa  and  the 
beloved  Persis,  "  who  labor  in  the  Lord,"  are  supposed 
by  some  to  be  Deaconesses  in  the  same  church  (Rom.  16  : 
1  and  12).     In  1  Tim.  3  :  11  it  is  required  that  the  wives 

*  Form  of  Government,  ch.  xiii.,  sect.  ii. 
t  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  340. 
X  Minutes  General  Assembly  187 Jf,  p.  84. 
§  Church  Polity,  p.  278. 


DEACONESS.  67 

[yvvaixai;)  of  the  Deacons  "  must  be  grave,  not  slanderers, 
sober,  faithful  in  all  things ;"  and  some  suppose  that  they 
held  official  relations  to  the  church  as  Deaconesses.  In 
1  Tim.  5  :  9  the  expression,  "■  Let  not  a  widow  be  taken 
into  the  number  under  threescore  years  old,"  is  under- 
stood by  some  as  those  poor  women  who  should  be  assisted 
by  the  church,  but  others  hold  that  it  refers  to  those  women 
who  may  be  chosen  Deaconesses,  to  have  charge  of  the 
female  part  of  the  congregation.  Such  women  officers 
are  considered  to  have  been  specially  necessary  among 
the  Gentile  converts,  Avhose  women  were  held  in  greater 
seclusion  than  among  the  Jews.*  Tabitha  or  Dorcas  is 
also  by  some  regarded  as  holding  this  office  (Acts  9  :  36). 
In  the  early  Church  there  were  Deaconesses  who  had 
charge  of  the  poor  and  sick  of  their  own  sex,  but  the 
office  was  abolished  in  the  Latin  Church  in  the  eleventh 
century,  and  in  the  Greek  Church  in  the  twelfth  century.f 
There  is  no  evidence  that  the  Deaconesses,  or  those 
women  who  had  care  of  the  poor  in  the  apostolic  Church, 
were  formally  elected  or  ordained  as  officers  in  the  church. 
Many  women  ministered  of  their  substance,  as  did  those 
of  Galilee  unto  Christ  (Luke  8  :  3),  and  devoted  much 
time  and  labor  to  the  poor,  and  were,  with  the  wives  of 
the  Deacons,  regarded  as  helpers  in  this  work,  but  prob- 
ably without  official  position.  The  Southern  Presbyterian 
Church  formally  states  what  has  always  been  the  usage 
in  Presbyterian  churches :  "  Where  it  shall  appear  need- 
ful, the  church  Session  may  select  and  appoint  godly  women 
for  the  care  of  the  sick,  of  prisoners,  of  poor  widows  and 
orphans,  and  in  general  for  the  relief  of  distress."  | 

*  See  History  of  Apostolic  Church,  p.  535. 

f  American  Cychypcedia. 

X  Book  of  Church  Order,  ch.  iv.,  sect,  iv.,  sub-sect.  vi. 


68  OF   DEACONS. 

By  whom  are  Deacons  to  be  elected  ? 

"  Every  congregation  shall  elect  persons  to  the  office 
of  Ruling  Elder,  and  to  the  office  of  Deacon,  or  either 
of  them,  in  the  mode  most  approved  and  in  use  in  that 
congregation."  *  Those  who  vote  for  Elders  may  vote 
for  Deacons. t 

Must  they  be  ordained  and  installed  ? 

The  same  rules  apply  to  them  as  to  Ruling  Elders  as 
to  ordination,  installation,  resignation,  deposition,  remo- 
val, dismissal,  return,  ceasing  to  act,  effect  of  suspension 
and  restoration.! 

May  a  person  be  at  once  Elder  and  Deacon  ? 

The  O.  S.  Assembly  in  1840  declared  that  while  it  is 
desirable  that  these  offices  should  be  kept  distinct,  "yet 
in  the  opinion  of  this  Assembly  it  is  not  inconsistent  with 
the  constitution  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  nor  with 
the  precedent  furnished  in  filling  the  office  of  Deacon  in 
its  first  institution,  that  where  a  necessity  exists  the  same 
individual  should  sustain  both  offices."  §  The  N.  S.  As- 
sembly took  no  action  on  this  question,  but  the  wording 
of  the  "Form  of  Government"  ch.  xiii.,  sect,  ii.,  seems 
to  imply  that  persons  may  be  elected  to  both  offices  or 
to  either  of  them.  In  1880  the  Assembly  was  asked, 
"  When  a  Deacon  in  any  church  is  elected  and  installed 
a  Ruling  Elder  in  the  same  church,  does  he  cease  to  ex- 
ercise the  functions  of  his  office  as  a  Deacon  ?"  and  an- 
swered, "  Not  necessarily."  || 

When  there  are  no  Deacons  the  Session  usually,  as 
a  body,  take  the  oversight  of  the  poor  or  appoint  one 
or  more  of  the  Elders  to  act  as  Deacons. 

*  Form  of  Government,  ch.  xiii.,  sect.  ii.  t  See  p.  56. 

X  See  pp.  57-GO.  ?  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  119. 

II  Minutes  O.  A.  18S0,  p.  66. 


EESPONSIBLE   TO   SESSION.  69 

May  a  Deacon  sit  in  tlie  churcli  courts  ? 

He  is  neither  a  Minister  nor  a  representative  of  the 
people,  and  has  therefore  no  judicial  power.* 

To  what  court  is  he  responsible? 

He  is  a  communicant  of  a  particular  church,  and  there- 
fore he  is  responsible  to  tlie  Session.  The  Deacons  should 
seek  the  advice  of  the  Session  in  regard  to  the  discharge 
of  their  duties  as  Deacons.t  Their  records  and  accounts 
should  be  presented  at  least  once  a  year  to  the  congrega- 
tion or  to  the  Session  (the  representatives  of  the  people) 
for  review  and  approval.  The  "  Second  Book  of  Disci- 
pline of  the  Church  of  Scotland"  says:  "They  ought  to 
do  according  to  the  judgment  and  appointment  of  the 
Presbyteries  or  Elderships  (of  which  the  Deacons  are 
not  members),  that  the  patrimony  of  the  Kirk  and  poor 
be  not  converted  to  private  men's  uses  nor  wrongfully 
distributed."  |  The  Southern  Presbyterian  Church  re- 
quires that  "  a  complete  account  of  collections  and  dis- 
tributions, and  a  full  record  of  proceedings,  shall  be  kept 
by  the  Deacons,  and  submitted  to  the  Session  for  exam- 
ination and  approval  at  least  once  a  year."  § 

May  Deacons  assist  the  Elders  at  the  Lord's  table  ? 

The  N.  S.  Assembly  referred  the  matter  to  the  dis- 
cretion of  the  Sessions  in  1867.||  This  was  affirmed  by 
the  Assembly  of  the  reunited  Church.^ 

May  a  Deacon  be  elected  for  a  term  of  years  ? 

No  action  has  been  taken  by  the  Assembly.  But  since 
rotary  or  term  eldership  is  permitted,  there  seems  no  rea- 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  118.  f  Ibid.,  p.  119. 

X  Assembly's  Digest,  p.  64. 

§  Book  of  Church  Order,  ch.  iv.,  sect,  iv.,  sub-sect.  iv. 

II  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  119. 

f  Assembly's  Minutes  1874,  P-  S^j  s^d  1S77,  p.  516. 


70  OF    DEACONS. 

Bon  why  the  Deacons  may  not  be  elected  in  the  same 
manner,  as  the  two  offices  are  considered  together  in  ch. 
xiii.  of  the  "  Form  of  Government."     App.,  p.  520. 

What  is  the  Board  of  Deacons  ? 

The  Deacons  cannot  act  on  individual  responsibility, 
but  must  meet  together  and  organize  as  a  Board  of  Dea- 
cons. They  should  appoint  a  Moderator,  a  Clerk  and 
a  Treasurer,  attend  to  their  business  in  an  orderly  way, 
determine  methods  for  searching  out  the  poor,  visiting 
the  sick,  obtaining  work  and  relieving  the  distressed. 
They  should  consider  the  cases  brought  before  them,  and 
determine  how  to  answer  their  applications.  They  should 
keej)  full  records  and  accounts  of  money  received  and 
distributed,  and  at  certain  times  present  them  to  Session 
for  approval.  If  the  management  of  the  temporal  af- 
fairs is  also  committed  to  them,  they  should  keep  a  sepa- 
rate account  of  property  and  moneys  of  the  congrega- 
tion. 

Often  the  members  of  Session  are  expected  to  be  pres- 
ent at  the  Deacons'  meeting,  to  advise,  but  not  to  vote.* 
The  Southern  Presbyterian  Church  declares  that  one  of 
the  duties  of  the  Session  is  "  to  examine  the  records  of 
the  proceedings  of  the  Deacons."  f 

What  are  Deacons  in  other  churches  ? 

In  the  Episcopal  Church,  Deacons  are  Ministers  in  the 
lowest  order.J 

In  the  Congregational  Church  they  are  spiritual  offi- 
cers. They  have  no  care  of  the  poor ;  they  are  elected 
by  the  church,  but  are  not  ordained ;  they,  with  the  Pas- 

*  See  above.  Form  of  Government,  cli.  ix.,  sect.  viii. ;  ch.  x.,  sect. 
ix. ;  ch.  xi.,  sect.  vi. ;  chs.  xix.  and  xx. 

f  Book  of  Church  Order,  ch.  v.,  sect,  iii.,  sub-sect.  v. 
X  See  p.  358. 


DEACONS    IN    OTHER   CHURCHES.  71 

tor,  form  the  Prudential  Coraraittee,  who  take  the  o\:er- 
sight  of  the  communicants,  and  report  to  the  church  what- 
ever may  require  their  action ;  they  assist  the  Pastor  in 
the  sacrament. 

In  the  Baptist  Church,  which  is  Congregational  in 
polity,  they  are  sometimes  ordained  with  the  laying  on 
of  hands. 

In  the  Methodist  Church  the  Deacons  hold  much  the 
same  office  as  in  the  Episcopal  Church. 

In  the  Reformed  (Dutch)  Church  the  Deacons  do  not 
differ  from  ours. 

In  the  Lutheran  Church  they  correspond  to  our  Dea- 
cons, except  that  they  assist  the  Pastor  at  the  Lord's 
table,  render  all  necessary  service  at  public  worship,  see 
that  the  Pastor  receives  proper  salary  and  administer  the 
temporal  affairs  of  the  church.* 


CHAPTER    VIL 

or   ORDINANCES   IN   A   PARTICULAR  CHURCH. 

Wiat  is  an  ordinance  ? 

That  which  is  established  by  authority.  In  the  Church 
the  constitutional  rules  and  the  decisions  of  the  highest 
court  are  never  called  "  ordinances."  They  have  merely 
church  authority,  and  may  be  revised  and  changed  by  new 
rules  and  later  decisions.  But  that  which  is  ordained  of 
God  is  an  ordinance,  binding  on  the  conscience,  and  can- 
not be  changed  save  by  the  order  of  God.  All  the  laws 
of  God,  appointed  services,  times,  ceremonies,  types  and 
officers  are  in  Scripture  called  ordinances  (Ex.  18  :  20  j 

*  Formula  of  Government,  ch.  iii.,  sect.  vi. 


72      OF    ORDINANCES    IN    A    PARTICULAR    CHURCH. 

Num.  9:12;  Ps.  99  :  7 ;  Luke  1:6;  Col.  2  :  14 ;  Heb. 
9  : 1, 10 ;  Rom.  13  :  2).  In  the  Christian  Church,  there- 
fore, ^Hhe  ordinances  [arc)  established  by  Christ  the 
Head."  They  have  his  authority  and  are  of  perpetual 
obligation. 

What  ordinances  has  Christ  established  ? 

"  Prayer,  singing  praises,  reading,  expounding  and 
preaching  the  wwd  of  God,  administering  baptism  and 
the  Loi'd's  Supper,  public  solemn  fasting  and  thanksgiv- 
ing, catechising,  making  collections  for  the  poor  and  other 
pious  purposes,  exercising  discipline,  and  blessing  the 
people." 

For  what  purposes  were  these  ordinances  given  ? 

"Christ  hath  given  the  ministry,  oracles  and  ordinances 
of  God,  for  the  gathering  and  perfecting  of  the  saints,  in 
this  life,  to  the  end  of  the  world :  and  doth  by  his  own 
presence  and  Spirit,  according  to  his  promise,  make  them 
effectual  thereunto."  * 

For  whose  benefit  were  they  given  ? 

For  the  Church  as  a  body,  and  for  the  present  and 
future  members  thereof  (1  Cor.  14  :  4-40). 

Wherein  do  the  ordinances  of  the  Old  Testament  differ 
from  those  of  the  New? 

"Under  the  law,  the  covenant  was  administered  by 
promises,  prophecies,  sacrifices,  circumcision,  the  paschal 
lamb,  and  other  types  and  ordinances  delivered  to  the 
people  of  the  Jews,  all  fore-signifying  Christ  to  come, 
which  were  for  that  time  sufficient  and  efficacious,  through 
the  operation  of  the  Spirit,  to  instruct  and  build  up  the 
elect  in  faith  in  the  promised  ISIessiah,  by  whom  they  had 
full  remission  of  sins  and  eternal  salvation. 

"  Under  the  gospel,  when  Christ  the  substance  was  ex- 
*  Confession  of  Faith,  ch.  xxv.,  sect.  iii. 


ORDINANCES    OF    OLD    AND    NEW   TESTAMENTS.      73 

liibited,  the  ordinances  in  which  this  covenant  is  dispensed 
are  the  preaching  of  the  word,  and  the  administration  of 
the  sacraments  of  baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper,  which, 
though  fewer  in  number  and  administered  with  more 
simplicity  and  less  outward  glory,  yet  in  them  it  is  held 
forth  in  more  fullness,  evidence  and  spiritual  efficacy,  to 
all  nations,  both  Jews  and  Gentiles ;  and  is  called  the  New 
Testament.  There  ai-e  not,  therefore,  two  covenants  of 
grace,  differing  in  substance,  but  one  and  the  same  under 
various  dispensations."  * 

What  connection  have  the  ordinances  of  the  two  dispen- 
sations ? 

Those  of  the  Old  Testament  were  typical,  ceremonial, 
ritualistic  and  complicated.  In  the  New  Testament  these 
are  retained  in  their  substance,  but  the  outward  forms  are 
changed .  The  complicated,  ritualistic  and  ceremonial  ser- 
vices of  the  temple  become  the  more  simple  and  direct 
worship  of  God.  The  veil  is  rent,  we  come  with  bold- 
ness to  the  mercy-seat  (John  4  :  21-24;  Heb.  4  :  16). 
The  prophetical  and  typical  ordinances,  after  the  fulfill- 
ment of  the  promises  and  the  accomplishment  of  all  that 
was  signified,  take  the  forms  of  declarations,  or  "  setting 
forth  "  what  has  been  done  (1  Cor.  11  :  26),  of  grateful 
reminders  (1  Cor.  11 :  24)  and  of  loving  consecration  and 
participation  (John  6  :  53-63;  1  Cor.  10  :  16). 

What  is  the  difference  between  an  ordinance  and  a  sac- 
rament ? 

An  ordinance  is  the  more  general  term,  and  includes 
whatever  is  ordained  of  God.  As  these  ordinances  were 
designed  to  communicate  to  us  the  benefits  of  redemption, 
they  are  often  called  the  means  of  grace.  "A  sacrament 
is  a  holy  ordinance  instituted  by  Christ;  wherein  by  sen- 
*  Confession  of  Faith,  ch.  vii.,  sects,  v.  aiid  vi. 
1 


74      OF    ORDINANCES    IN    A    PARTICULAR    CHURCH. 

sible  signs  Christ  and  the  benefits  of  the  new  covenant 
are  represented,  sealed  and  applied  to  believers."  There 
are  but  two  sacraments  in  the  New  Testament — Baptism 
and  the  Lord's  Supper.*  These  are  also  called  "  sealing 
ordinances."  f 

Wlio  are  responsible  for  the  administratloii  of  the  ordi- 
nances ? 

The  Pastor  and  Session  of  the  particular  church.  J 

By  whom  is  prayer  to  be  offered  in  the  church  ? 

The  Minister  should  himself  offer  the  prayers.  He 
may,  when  he  deems  it  expedient  or  necessary,  call  upon 
one  of  the  Elders  of  the  church  or  any  other  fit  person 
to  conduct  this  part  of  the  service.  He  is,  however,  al- 
ways responsible  for  it.  §  At  the  more  informal  and  social 
church-meetings,  as  at  prayer-meetings  and  the  monthly 
concert  for  prayer,  "  the  brethren  "  (the  male  communi- 
cants) are  to  take  part,  under  the  general  supervision  of 
the  Pastor.  To  this  they  are  often  urged  by  the  General 
Assembly,  as  in  the  pastoral  letters  in  1817, 1832,  and  by 
the  O.  S.  Assembly  in  1849.  ||  "  Meetings  of  pious  women 
by  themselves  for  conversation  and  prayer,  whenever  they 
can  conveniently  be  held,  we  entirely  approve."  "  To 
teach  and  exhort,  or  to  lead  in  prayer  in  public  and 
promiscuous  assemblies,  is  clearly  forbidden  to  women 
in  the  holy  oracles."  T[  In  1874  the  Assembly  to  the 
overture,  "Does  the  Assembly  mean  to  enjoin  that  in 
the  regular  weekly  prayer-meetings  of  the  church  no 
woman  shall  speak  or  lead  in  prayer  ?"  answered,  "  Y  es, 

*  SJmrter  Catechkm,  Qq.  88,  92,  93. 
f  Directory  for  Worship,  cli.  ix. 

XForm  of  Government,  chs.  iv.  and  xxi. ;  Directory  for  Worship,  chs. 
iii.--x.  ?  Ibid.,  cli.  v.,  sect.  iv. 

II  Presbyterian  Difjest,  pp.  296,  302,  313.       If  Ibid.,  pp.  304,  353. 


PRAYER.  75 

except  in  emergencies,  to  be  decided  by  the  Pastor  and 
Session ;"  and  added,  "  The  Assembly  expresses  no  opin- 
ion as  to  the  scriptural  view  of  woman's  right  to  speak 
and  pray  in  the  social  prayer-meeting,  but  commits  the 
whole  subject  to  the  discretion  of  the  Pastors  and  Elders 
of  the  churches."  * 

May  liturgies  be  used  ? 

The  "  Directory  for  Worship/'  ch.  v.,  gives  direction  for 
extemporary  prayer.  In  1867  the  N.  S.  Assembly  did 
not  deem  it  necessary  to  give  any  deliverance  on  the  use 
of  liturgies,  since  "  the  usage  and  forms  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church  have  been  so  uniform  and  acceptable  for 
years  past  from  their  scriptural  simplicity,"  and  no  change 
in  these  usages  is  likely  to  take  place.  In  1869  the  O.  S. 
Assembly  declared  that  "  it  becomes  the  Church  to  with- 
stand the  tendency,  so  strongly  manifested  in  many  places, 
to  a  liturgical  and  ritualistic  service."  f  In  1874  the 
Assembly  declared  "  that  the  practice  of  responsive  ser- 
vice in  the  public  worship  of  the  sanctuary  is  without 
warrant  in  the  New  Testament,  and  is  unwise  and  im- 
politic, in  view  of  its  inevitable  tendency  to  destroy 
uniformity  in  our  mode  of  worship."  And  "the  Ses- 
sions of  the  churches  are  urged  to  preserve  in  act  and 
spirit  the  simplicity  indicated  in  the  'Directory  for 
Worship.' "  l     Appendix,  p.  520. 

What  is  the  proper  position  in  prayer  ? 

In  1849  the  O.  S.  Assembly  recognized  the  fact  that, 
according  to  scriptural  example  and  the  practice  of  the 
early  Church,  the  proper  posture  in  public  prayer  is 
standing,  and  in  private  prayer  is  kneeling — the  pos- 

*  Minutes  Oeneral  Assembly  1874,  PP-  32,  66. 

f  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  656. 

X  Minutes  General  Assembly  1874,  p.  83. 


76       OF    ORDINANCES    IN    A    PARTICUIAR   CHURCH. 

ture  of  sitting  was  regarded  by  the  early  Church  m 
heathenish  and  irreverent — and  therefore  resolved,  "That 
the  practice  (sitting  in  prayer)  be  considered  grievously 
iin[)roper  whenever  the  infirmities  of  the  worshiper  do 
not  render  it  necessary,  and  that  Ministers  be  required 
to  reprove  it  with  earnest  and  persevering  admonition." 
This  was  reaffirmed  in  1857.  In  1854  the  N.  S.  Assem- 
bly resolved  that  as  the  Bible  does  not  enjoin  precisely 
the  tunes  to  be  used,  the  posture  to  be  adopted,  or  who 
shall  join  in  the  songs  of  the  sanctuar}--,  therefore  no 
action  be  taken  on  uniformity  in  the  forms  of  worship, 
posture  in  prayer  and  singing.  In  1870  the  Assembly 
said  that  action  in  relation  to  the  posture  in  prayer  and 
praise  is  inexpedient.* 

Who  should  take  part  in  singing  praises  ? 

This,  as  every  other  part  of  public  worship,  is  under 
the  direction  of  the  Pastor.  "  The  proportion  of  the  time 
of  public  worship  to  be  spent  in  singing  is  left  to  the 
prudence  of  every  Minister."  But  "it  is  the  duty  of 
Christians  to  praise  God  by  singing  psalms  or  hymns 
publicly  in  the  church,  as  also  privately  in  the  family." 
"  The  whole  congregation  should  be  furnished  with  books, 
and  ought  to  join  in  this  part  of  worship."  "It  is  also 
proper  that  we  cultivate  some  knowledge  of  the  rules  of 
music,  that  we  may  praise  God  in  a  becoming  manner 
with  our  voices  as  well  as  with  our  hearts."  f 

Is  it  proper  to  have  a  choir  ? 

The  manner  in  which  this  important  part  of  worship 
is  to  be  conducted  must  be  determined  by  the  Session.  J 
The  custom  in  the  Church  of  Scotland  is  to  have  a  Pre- 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  646. 

f  Directory  for  Worship,  ch.  iv. 

X  Form  of  Government,  ch.  ix.,  sect.  vi. 


PRAISE.  77 

centor,  who  occupies  a  place  in  front  of  or  near  the  pul- 
pit, and  leads  the  congregation  in  singing.  This  was 
also  the  usage  in  the  Presbyterian  and  some  other 
churches  in  this  country.  It  has  passed  away  almost 
entirely  until  lately,  when  in  some  cases  it  has  been  re- 
established. It  is  more  usual  to  have  a  trained  choir. 
In  1867  the  O.  S.  Assembly  declared  that  those  who 
lead  in  singing  should  be,  as  far  as  practicable,  only 
"those  who  are  in  communion  with  the  church  and 
amenable  to  its  jurisdiction ; "  that  "  the  introduction 
of  choirs  or  musical  instruments  can  be  justified  only 
as  they  serve  this  end  (to  inspu'e  and  express  devotion) 
and  aid  or  accompany  sacred  song ;  and  no  display  of 
artistic  skill,  no  delicacy  of  vocal  training,  no  measure 
of  nuisical  ability,  compensates  for  the  violation,  or  even 
neglect,  of  the  proprieties  of  divine  worship."  It  rec- 
ommends that  meetings  for  rehearsal  be  held  on  other 
days  than  the  Sabbath.  It  reminds  the  Church  "  that 
the  Scriptures  nowhere  recognize  the  service  of  song  as 
to  be  performed  by  the  few  in  behalf  of  the  many."  * 

May  musical  instruments  be  used  ? 

What  has  been  said  above  of  choirs  applies  equally 
to  musical  instruments.  In  1845  the  O.  S.  Assembly 
replied  to  an  overture,  that  "  whereas  by  the  '  Form  of 
Government '  and  '  Directory  for  Worship '  the  whole 
internal  management  of  the  church  as  to  worship  and 
order  is  committed  to  the  Minister  and  Session,"  there- 
fore no  further  order  is  necessary,  but  to  each  Session  is 
left  "  the  delicate  and  important  matter  of  arranging  and 
conducting  the  music  as  to  them  shall  seem  most  for  edi- 
fication, recommending  great  caution,  prudence  and  for- 
bearance in  regard  to  it."t 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  653.  f  Ibid.,  p.  654. 

7« 


78      OF   ORDINANCES  IN   A   PARTICULAR    CHURCH. 

Is  chanting  allowable  ? 

In  the  various  books  recommended  by  the  Assem- 
blies (O.  S.  and  N,  S.)  to  be  used  in  the  Church  many- 
chants  are  to  be  found.  The  committees  appointed  to 
prepare  hymn-books  have,  in  both  branches  of  the  Church, 
been  instructed  to  make  careful  selections  of  the  Psalms 
and  of  other  portions  of  the  Bible  to  be  arranged  for 
chanting.*  Similar  instructions  were  given  and  carried 
out  in  the  preparation  of  "  The  Presbyterian  Hymnal," 
which  was  adopted  by  the  reunited  Church  in  1875.t 

Wliat  books  of  hymns  and  music  may  be  used  ? 

The  "  Directory  for  Worship,"  ch.  iv,,  merely  states 
that  books  should  be  furnished.  As  above  stated,  the 
whole  matter  is  under  the  direction  of  the  Session  of 
each  church.  Yet  they  should  not  use  the  authority  ar- 
bitrarily, adopting  a  new  book  "  without  the  consent  of 
the  majority  of  said  congregation  "  (1753). J  The  Gen- 
eral Assemblies  have  often  expressed  their  opinion  of 
the  desirability  of  having  uniformity  in  the  churches  in 
this  regard,  but  have  never  assumed  authority,  but  have 
from  time  to  time  approved  certain  books,  appointed 
committees  to  prepare  them,  published  them  by  their 
committees  or  Boards,  and  earnestly  recommended  their 
use  by  the  churches.  At  first  the  Assembly  authorized 
the  use  of  Rouse's  version  of  the  Book  of  Psalms,  which 
is  still  used  by  the  churches  in  Scotland  and  Ireland  and 
in  some  of  the  branches  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in 
this  country.  Watts's  "  Imitation  of  the  Psalms  of 
David,"  with  his  three  books  of  hymns,  was  afterward 
recommended.  In  1830  "The  Book  of  Psalms  and 
Hymns,"  prepared  by  the  Assembly,  was  approved  and 

*  New  Digest,  p.  401 ;  Presbyterian  Dicjest,  p.  652. 

t  Minutes  1875,  p.  508.  %  Neiv  Digest,  p.  JOS, 


PRAISE.  79 

recommended.  "  The  Church  Psalmist  "  was  adopted  in 
1843  by  the  N.  S.  Assembly.  The  O.  S.  Assembly  in 
1838  ordered  a  revision  of  the  "Psalms  and  Hymns," 
which  was  made  and  authorized  in  1843.  In  1866  "The 
Hymnal "  was  approved,  and  "  allowed  to  be  used  in  all 
our  churches,  but  it  is  not  required  that  it  shall  super- 
sede the  books  in  present  use."  *  The  reunited  Church 
prepared  and  adopted  the  "Presbyterian  Hymnal"  in 
1875.t     Appendix,  p.  520. 

The  introduction  of  Watts's  version  of  the  Psalms  and 
of  hymns  at  first  met  with  much  opposition.  In  1755 
the  Synod  determined  that  where  Watts's  book  was  adopt- 
ed the  Scotch  version  should  be  equally  used  in  the  pub- 
lic worship.  In  1765  the  Synod  declared,  "  That  they 
look  on  the  inspired  Psalms  in  Scripture  to  be  proper 
matter  to  be  sung  in  divine  worship,  according  to  their 
original  design  and  the  practice  of  Christian  churches, 
yet  will  not  forbid  those  to  use  the  imitations  of  them 
whose  judgment  and  inclination  leads  them  to  do  so." 
In  1787  the  Synod  stated  that  while,  for  many  years, 
they  had  allowed  the  use  of  Watts's  book,  "  they  were 
far  from  disapproving  of  Rouse's  version,  commonly 
called  the  Old  Psalms,"  and  that  they  "  highly  disap- 
prove of  public  severe  and  unchristian  censures  being 
passed  upon  either  of  the  systems  of  psalmody."  The 
next  year  a  Minister  formally  asked  if  the  churches 
"  have  not  fallen  into  a  great  and  pernicious  error  in  the 
public  worship  of  God  by  disusing  Rouse's  versification 
of  David's  Psalms,  and  adopting  in  the  room  of  it 
Watts's  Imitation  ?"  The  Assembly  attempted  to  remove 
his  conscientious  scruples,  and  enjoined  him  to  be  careful 

*  New  Digest,  p.  580;  Assembly's  Digest,  p.  207-214;  Presbyterian 
Digest,  p.  647-652.  f  3finutes  1875,  p.  508. 


80      OF    ORDINANCES    IN    A    PARTICULAR   CHURCH. 

not  to  disturb  the  peace  of  the  Church.  lu  1802  hymns 
were  formally  allowed.* 

Who  may  read,  expound  and  preach  the  word  of  God  ? 

Pastors,  Evangelists,  Ministers  regularly  ordained  and 
in  good  standing,  and  liicentiates.  "  It  is  expedient  that 
no  persons  be  introduced  to  preach  in  any  of  the  churches 
under  our  care  unless  by  the  consent  of  the  Pastor  or 
church  Session."  f  The  above  quotation  recognized  that 
the  Pastor  or  Session  is  responsible  for  the  instruction 
given  to  the  church.  The  Pastor  may  invite  Ministers 
and  Licentiates  to  preach  for  him,  whether  they  belong 
to  the  Presbyterian  Church  or  any  other  whose  ordination 
is  recognized  by  our  Church. 

Under  this  same  responsibility  Pastors  sometimes  per- 
mit Candidates  who  are  somewhat  advanced  in  their  studies, 
but  not  yet  licensed  by  Presbytery,  to  try  their  gifts,  in 
more  or  less  formal  expositions  and  preaching  of  the  word, 
in  their  own  churches  and  under  their  supervision. 

In  vacant  churches  the  Elders  or  Deacons  may,  when 
a  Minister  cannot  be  procured,  preside  at  the  public  wor- 
ship, select  the  portions  of  Scriptures  and  of  other  books 
to  be  read,  such  works  of  approved  divines  recommended 
by  Presbytery.t  The  O.  S.  Assembly  in  1856  and  1857 
recognized  the  right  of  Elders  in  the  absence  of  the  Pastor 
"  to  explain  the  Scriptures,  and  to  endeavor  to  enforce  the 
truth  upon  the  conscience  by  suitable  exhortations."  § 

Preaching  without  a  license  and  lay  preaching  are  re- 
garded by  the  Assembly  as  irregular  and  improper.  If 
men  show  a  calling  to  the  work,  they  should  devote  them- 

*  Assembly's  Digest,  p.  207 ;  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  648. 
f  Form  of  Government,  chs.  iv.,  xiv.,  xv. ;  Directory  for  Woiship,  ch. 
vi.,  sect.  vi.  %  Form  of  Government,  ch.  xxi. 

§  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  462. 


PREACHING.  81 

selves  to  study,  and  when  prepared  should  be  regularly- 
licensed.* 

Women,  while  encouraged  to  hold  meetings  for  women, 
are  not  to  exhort  or  preach  or  lead  in  prayer  in  promis- 
cuous assemblies,  as  this  "  is  clearly  forbidden  in  the  holy 
oracles."  f  This  was  regarded  in  1872  as  a  sufficient  re- 
ply to  the  overture  asking  "  for  such  rules  as  shall  forbid 
the  licensing  and  ordaining  of  women  to  the  gospel  min- 
istry and  the  teaching  and  preaching  of  women  in  our 
pulpits,"  etc.  I  In  1878  the  Assembly  decided  that  "the 
passages  of  Scripture  referred  to  in  the  action  of  the 
Presbytery  (1  Cor.  14  :  33-37  and  1  Tim.  2  :  11-13)  do 
prohibit  the  fulfilling  by  women  of  the  offices  of  Preach- 
ers in  the  regular  assemblies  of  the  Church."  § 

May  Ministers  read  their  sermons  ? 

There  is  no  prohibition.  Yet  in  1761 "  it  was  further 
enjoined  that  all  our  Ministers  and  Probationers  forbear 
reading  their  sermons  from  the  pulpit,  if  they  can  con- 
veniently;" and  the  O.  S.  Assembly  in  1841  and  1849 
earnestly  exhorted  our  younger  Ministers  "  to  adopt  a 
different  method  (from  reading),  as  more  scriptural  and 
effective,  and  more  generally  acceptable  to  God's  people."  || 
"  This  method  of  preaching  requires  much  study,  medi- 
tation and  prayer.  Ministers  ought  in  general  to  prepare 
their  sermons  with  care,  and  not  indulge  themselves  in 
loose,  extemporary  harangues,  nor  to  serve  God  with  that 
which  costs  them  naught,"  etc.T[ 

What  is  expository  preaching  ? 

The  explaining  and  applying  larger  or  smaller  pas- 

*  Presbyierkm  Digest,  p.  352.  f  Ibid.,  pp.  304,  353. 

t  Minutes  G.  A .  1872,  p.  89.  g  Minutes  G.  A.  1878,  p.  1 02. 

II  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  657. 
^  Directory  for  Worship,  ch.  vi.,  sect.  iii. 

F 


82      OF   ORDINANCES   IN   A   PARTICULAR   CHURCH. 

sages  of  the  word  of  God.  This  may  be  done  in  the 
reading  of  the  Scriptures,  or  in  more  formal  lectures  or 
courses  of  sermons.  "  It  is  proper  also  that  large  por- 
tions of  Scripture  be  sometimes  expounded,  and  particu- 
larly improved,  for  the  instruction  of  the  people  in  the 
meaning  and  use  of  the  Sacred  Oracles."  This  method 
of  preaching  was  specially  commended  to  Ministers  in 
1799.* 

What  is  a  sacrament  ? 

"A  sacrament  is  an  holy  ordinance  instituted  by  Christ; 
wherein,  by  sensible  signs,  Christ  and  the  benefits  of  the 
new  covenant  are  represented,  sealed  and  applied  to  be- 
lievers." t 

How  many  sacraments  are  there? 

Under  the  Old  Testament  there  were  only  two — Circum- 
cision and  the  Passover  (Gen.  17 :  10;  Ex.  12  :).  "Under 
the  New  Testament  Christ  has  instituted  in  his  Church 
only  two  sacraments — Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper."  J 
This  is  the  doctrine  of  all  the  Reformed  churches.  The 
Romish  Church  holds  that  there  are  seven  sacraments — 
Baptism,  Lord's  Supper,  Matrimony,  Orders,  Penance, 
Confirmation  and  Extreme  Unction. 

What  is  baptism  ? 

"  Baptism  is  a  sacrament,  wherein  the  washing  with 
water  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  doth  signify  and  seal  our  ingrafting 
into  Christ,  and  partaking  of  the  benefits  of  the  cove- 
nant of  grace,  and  our  engagement  to  be  the  Lord's."  § 
It  is  the  initiatory  rite  of  the  Christian  Church,  as  cir- 

*  Directory  for  Worship,  ch.  vi.,  sect.  ii. ;  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  657. 

f  Shorter  Catechism,  Q.  92, 

X  Larger  Catechism,  Q.  164;  Matt.  28  :  19  ;  26  :  26,  27. 

§  Shorter  Catechism,  Q.  94. 


BAPTISM.  83 

cumcision  was  of  the  Jewish  Church.  They  have  the 
same  signification  and  use.  Baptism  in  the  New-Testa- 
ment dispensation  has  taken  the  place  of  circumcision. 
"The  sacraments  of  the  Old  Testament,  in  regard  of  the 
spiritual  things  thereby  signified  and  exhibited,  were  for 
substance  the  same  with  those  of  the  New."  *  (Col.  2  : 
11, 12.)  Circumcision  is  forbidden  (Gal.  5  :  2),  and  bap- 
tism is  enjoined  (Acts  2  :  38). 

Who  may  administer  baptism  ? 

In  the  Romish  Church  it  is  usually  administered  by 
the  Priest,  but  in  emergencies  any  man,  or  even  a  woman, 
may  perform  the  service.  In  the  Episcopal  Church,  Dea- 
cons may  baptize  in  the  absence  of  the  Priest  or  under 
his  direction.  In  other  Reformed  churches,  as  in  our 
own,  baptism  is  "  not  to  be  administered  in  any  case  by 
any  private  person,  but  by  a  Minister  of  Christ,  called 
to  be  steward  of  the  mysteries  of  God."  f  A  Licentiate, 
not  being  a  Minister,  cannot  baptize,  nor  can  a  Ruling 
Elder.J  For  the  same  reason  a  person  deposed  from  the 
ministry  cannot  administer  this  sacrament ;  if  he  attempt 
it,  the  service  is  not  valid. §  If  a  Minister  be  suspend- 
ed, he  has  no  right  to  exercise  any  of  the  functions  of  a 
Minister.  If  the  suspended  Minister  performs  the  rite 
after  he  has  united  with  some  other  Church,  and  is  held 
there  as  in  good  standing,  his  administrations  are  to  be 
regarded  as  those  of  other  denominations.  §  The  service 
by  an  impostor  is  lay  baptism,  and  therefore  invalid.  || 
If  a  Minister  be  immoral  or  unworthy  of  his  office,  but 
ha.s  not  yet  been  disciplined,  his  baptisms  are  to  be  re- 

*  Confession  of  Faith,  ch.  xxvii.,  sect.  v. 
f  Directory  for  Worship,  cli.  vii.,  sect,  i. 
X  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  117,  663.  §  Ibid.,  p.  660. 

II  Ibid.,  p.  659. 


8  4      OF   ORDINANCES   IN    A    PARTICULAR   CHURCH. 

garcled  as  valid ;  where  there  have  been  great  irregu- 
lai'ities  in  the  service,  the  Session  should  inquire  into 
each  case,  and  refer  it  to  Presbytery  for  final  de- 
cision.* 

Is  the  efficacy  of  baptism  affected  by  the  personal  cha- 
racter of  the  administrator? 

"  The  sacraments  become  effectual  means  of  salvation, 
not  from  any  virtue  in  them,  or  in  him  that  doth  admin- 
ister them,  but  only  by  the  blessing  of  Christ,  and  the 
working  of  his  Spirit  in  them  that  by  faith  receive 
them.'^t 

Is  the  baptism  of  other  churches  to  be  recognized  ? 

"  It  is  also  a  principle,  that  as  long  as  any  denomina- 
tion of  Christians  is  acknowledged  by  us  as  a  Chm'ch  of 
Christ,  we  ought  to  hold  the  ordinances  dispensed  by  it 
as  valid,  notwithstanding  the  unworthiness  of  particular 
Ministers."  * 

Unitarian  baptism  was  pronounced  invalid  by  the  As- 
sembly of  1814.  "It  is  the  deliberate  and  unanimous 
opinion  of  this  Assembly  that  those  who  renounce  the 
fundamental  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  and  deny  that 
Jesus  Christ  is  the  same  in  substance,  equal  in  power 
and  glory  with  the  Father,  cannot  be  recognized  as 
Ministers  of  the  gospel,  and  that  their  administrations 
are  invalid."* 

The  O.  S.  Assembly  decided  in  1864  that  baptism  by 
the  Campbellites  or  Disciples  is  invalid.^ 

The  O.  S.  Assembly  in  1 845  declared  that  the  Romish 
Church  is  not  a  Church  of  Christ,  nor  its  Priests  his 
Ministers,  and  therefore  its  baptism  is  invalid.     In  cases 

*  -Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  659. 

f  Shorter  Catechism,  Q.  91 ;  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  659. 

i  Ibid.,  p.  660. 


BAPTISM.  85 

of  doubt  the  Session  must  decide  ii  the  applicant  must 
be  baptized.*  Ih  1875  our  Assembly  answered  to  the 
question,  "Should  a  convert  from  Romanism  be  again 
baptized  ?"  that  "  the  decision  of  the  question  be  left  to 
the  judgment  of  each  church  Session,  guided  by  the  prin- 
ciples governing  the  subject  of  baptism  as  laid  down  in 
the  standards  of  our  Church."  f  In  1879  it  was  resolved, 
"  That  this  Assembly,  in  full  accordance  with  the  words 
of  our  '  Confession  of  Faith '  respecting  the  Church  of 
Rome  and  its  so-called  spiritual  head,  do  now.  reaffirm  the 
deliverance  upon  this  subject  of  the  Assembly  of  1835, 
as  applying  to  that  Roman  hierarchy,  headed  by  the 
Pope,  falsely  claiming  to  be  the  Church,  which,  opposed 
absolutely  and  irreconcilably  to  the  doctrines  of  Holy 
Scripture,  is  corrupting  and  degrading  a  large  part  of 
Christ's  Church  over  which  it  has  usurped  supreme  con- 
trol."! That  deliverance  in  1835  declared  the  papacy  to 
be  apostate  from  Christ  and  no  true  Church. § 

Who  may  be  baptized  ? 

"  Baptism  is  not  to  be  administered  to  any  that  are  out 
of  the  visible  Church  till  they  profess  their  faith  in  Christ 
and  obedience  to  him,  but  infants  of  such  as  are  members 
of  the  visible  Church  are  to  be  baptized."  ||  "  Not  only 
those  that  do  actually  profess  faith  in  and  obedience  unto 
Christ,  but  also  the  infants  of  one  or  both  believing  pa- 
rents, are  to  be  baptized."  ^ 

Suspended  church  members  cannot  present  their  chil- 
dren. 

Christian  masters  and  mistresses,  who  have  the  right 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  660-663.        f  Minutes  G.  A.  1875,  p.  514. 
%  Minutes  G.  A.  1879,  p.  630.  ^  Assembly' s  Digest,  p.  560. 

II  Shorter  Catechism,  Q.  95. 
^  Confession  of  Faith,  cli.  xxviii.,  sect.  iv. 
8 


86      OF   ORDINANCES    IN    A    PARTICULAR   CHURCH. 

to  claim  baptism  for  their  own  children,  should  also  ded- 
icate the  children  of  their  servants  in  that  ordinance, 
"  Avhen  they  have  no  scruple  of  conscience  to  the  con- 
trary." 

Christian  masters  should  present  the  infants  of  their 
slaves  for  baptism,  "  provided  they  are  in  a  situation  to 
train  them  up  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the 
Lord." 

Christian  slaves,  having  children  "  at  the  entire  direc- 
tion of  unchristian  masters,  and  not  having  it  in  their 
power  to  instruct  them  in  religion,  are  bound  to  have 
them  baptized." 

Orphan  children  of  heathen  parents  committed  to  the 
care  of  our  missions  are  entitled  to  the  benefits  of  bap- 
tism, when  they  are  "  so  committed  to  the  missions  or 
other  Christian  tuition  as  to  secure  effectually  their  en- 
tire religious  education,"  and  "  have  not  attained  to  years 
of  discretion."  So  the  O.  S.  Assembly  determined  in 
1843. 

Ministers  should  carefully  examine  persons  applying 
to  have  their  children  baptized,  that  they  are  of  a  reg- 
ular life  and  have  suitable  acquaintance  with  the  princi- 
ples of  Christianity,  that  the  seal  be  not  set  to  a  blank, 
and  that  such  be  not  admitted  to  the  Church  who  are 
manifestly  unfit.* 

May  baptized  parents,  not  communicants,  obtain  baptism 
for  their  children  ? 

In  the  constitution  of  the  Church  the  term  "  member 
of  the  visible  Church,"  when  unqualified,  means  mem- 
bers in  full  and  regular  standing — that  is,  communicants. 
Others  are  called  "baptized  members,"  ''suspended  mem- 
bers," "  absent  members,"  etc.  Baptism  is  an  act  of  faitli ; 
*  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  664,  665. 


BAPTISM.  87 

a  profession  of  faith  is  therefore  necessary.  The  Assem- 
bly was  asked  to  give  some  precise  direction  and  defini- 
tion of  the  credible  profession  of  Christianity  required,  but 
replied  that  it  was  unnecessary  to  deliver  rules  more  ex- 
plicit than  those  in  the  constitution.  Cases  of  difficulty 
Dr  doubt  must  be  determined  separately  by  the  proper 
judicatories.* 

At  what  age  may  infants  be  baptized  ? 

"  Baptism  is  not  to  be  unnecessarily  delayed."  f  The 
precise  time  when  infancy  ceases  is  not  determined  by 
the  word  of  God  nor  the  standards  of  the  Church.  Ses- 
sions and  Ministers  may  determine  when  a  child  is  too 
old  to  be  baptized  on  the  faith  of  the  parents.^ 

May  a  person  be  baptized  on  a  general  profession  of 
faith? 

The  N.  S.  Assembly  in  1860  decided  that  a  profession 
of  faith  in  Christ  and  of  obedience  to  him  is  all  that  is 
required  of  those  who  apply  for  baptism.  "  Hence  cases 
may  occur  in  which,  as  in  the  case  of  Philip  and  the 
Ethiopian  eunuch,  it  may  be  proper  to  baptize  a  per- 
son who  does  not  expect  immediately  to  connect  himself 
with  any  particular  church  ;"  but  in  ordinary  cases  bap- 
tism should  "constitute  his  initiation  into  the  visible 
Church  and  into  some  particular  branch  of  it."§ 

The  O.  S.  Assembly  in  1864  was  asked  if  a  member 
of  the  Friends'  Society,  determined  to  continue  his  con- 
nection therewith,  may  be  baptized  on  the  profession 
that  "Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God,"  and  that  he  holds  the 
essential  doctrines  of  the  Christian  religion.  The  answer 
given  was  a  reference  to  the  "Larger"  and  "Shorter 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  665,  666. 

f  Directory  for  Worship,  ch.  vii.,  sect,  i 

J  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  658.  §  Ibid.,  p.  677. 


88      OF   ORDINANCES   IN   A   PARTICULAR   CHURCH. 

Catechisms:"  "Q.  To  whom  is  baptism  to  be  adminis- 
tered ?"  * 

What  are  god-parents  ? 

In  the  Episcopal  Church  the  infant  is  presented  for 
baptism  by  persons  called  god-parents  and  sponsors,  who 
make  the  vows  for  the  child,  and,  in  its  name,  renounce 
the  devil,  world  and  flesh,  adopt  all  the  articles  of  the 
Christian  faith,  and  promise  obediently  to  keep  God's 
holy  will  and  commandments.  A  male  child  must 
have  two  godfathers  and  one  godmother;  and  a  female 
child  one  godfather  and  two  godmothers.  "  The  pa- 
rents shall  be  admitted  as  sponsors  if  it  be  desired."  f 
All  children  are  baptized  if  the  Priest  be  satisfied  with 
the  god-parents.  These  need  have  no  relationship  to 
the  child,  and  often  are  not  communicants,  and  have 
no  control  over  the  child.  In  the  Reformed  Episcopal 
Church  god-parents  are  not  recognized.  "  Infants  must 
be  presented  by  their  parents,  when  practicable,  and  one 
at  least  of  the  persons  presenting  must  be  a  commu- 
nicant of  this  or  of  some  other  evangelical  Church." 
The  vows  are  made  by  the  parents,  that  they  have  faith, 
and  that  they  will  bring  up  the  child  in  the  nurture  and 
admonition  of  the  Lord.  J  This  is  true  also  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church. § 

Who  may  present  children  for  baptism  in  other  churches  ? 

In  the  Congregational  Church  the  custom  is  as  in  our 
Church.  Formerly  the  "  half-way  covenant "  was  rec- 
ognized ;  that  is,  parents  who  have  been  baptized,  but 
who  do  not  profess  personal  faith,  were  permitted  to  pre- 
sent their  children  for  baptism  on  a  declaration  of  their 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  677.  f  The  Hook  of  Common  Prayer, 

X  Book  of  Common  Prayer  of  the  Reformed  Episcopal  Church. 
§  Discipline  (1880),  If  491. 


BAPTISM.  89 

conviction  of  the  truth  of  Christianity,  and  of  their  desire 
that  their  children  be  brought  up  under  its  influence,  and  on 
th  eir  engagement  to  instruct  them  and  set  before  them  a  good 
example.     This,  however,  has  generally  been  discarded. 

In  the  Baptist  churches  baptism  is  administered  only 
to  adults  on  the  profession  of  their  own  faith  and  vows. 
The  form  is  by  immersion.  No  other  baptism  is  recog- 
nized by  them.  In  this  country  the  Baptist  churches 
hold  to  close  communion;  that  is,  they  do  not  receive 
persons  of  other  churches  to  their  communion,  and  often 
forbid  their  members  communing  in  other  churches. 

Does  excommuiiicatlon  of  a  church  member  vitiate  Ms 
baptism  ?  and  on  his  restoration  should  he  be  rebaptized  ? 

The  Assembly  of  1881  answered  both  questions  in  the 
negative.* 

How  is  baptism  to  be  administered? 

"  Washing  with  water  in  the  name  of  the  Father  and 
of  the  Son  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost."  f  "  Dipping  of  the 
person  into  the  water  is  not  necessary ;  but  baptism  is 
rightly  administered  by  pouring  or  sprinkling  water 
upon  the  person."  |  "  He  is  to  baptize  the  child  with 
water,  by  pouring  or  sprinkling  it  on  the  face  of  the 
child,  without  adding  any  other  ceremony ;  and  the 
whole  shall  be  concluded  with  prayer."  §  In  1834  the 
Assembly  was  asked,  "  Is  it  expedient,  in  the  present 
state  of  the  Church,  for  a  Presbyterian  Minister  to  bap- 
tize by  immersion  in  any  case?"  and  replied,  that  it  saw 
no  cause  for  adding  anything  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Con- 
fession on  this  subject.  || 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  1881,  p.  586.  f  Shorter  Catechism,  Q.  94. 

X  Confession  of  Faith,  ch.  xxviii.,  sect.  iii. 
§  Directory  for  Worship,  ch.  vii.,  sect.  v. 
II  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  667. 
8* 


90      OF   ORDINANCES   IN   A    PARTICULAR   CHURCH. 

Where  may  baptism  be  administered  ? 

"It  is  usually  to  be  administered  in  the  church,  in  the 
presence  of  the  congregation ;  and  it  is  convenient  that 
it  be  performed  immediately  after  sermon."*  (The  more 
general  custom  now  is  to  have  the  baptism  before  the  ser- 
mon.) "Although  it  is  proper  that  baptism  be  adminis- 
tered in  the  presence  of  the  congregation,  yet  there  may 
be  cases  when  it  will  be  expedient  to  administer  this  or- 
dinance in  private  houses;  of  which  the  Minister  is  to  be 
the  judge."  f 

What  is  the  Lord's  Supper  ? 

"The  Lord's  Supper  is  a  sacrament,  wherein,  by  giving 
and  receiving  bread  and  wine,  according  to  Christ's  ap- 
pointment, his  death  is  showed  forth,  and  the  worthy  re- 
ceivers are,  not  after  a  corporal  and  carnal  manner,  but 
by  faith,  made  partakers  of  his  body  and  blood,  with  all 
his  benefits,  to  their  spiritual  nourishment  and  growth  in 
grace."!  It  was  substituted  by  Christ  for  the  passover 
of  the  Old-Testament  Church  (Matt.  26  :  17-30). 

Who  may  administer  the  Lord's  Supper  ? 

"Neither  of  which  (baptism  nor  the  Lord's  Supper) 
may  be  dispensed  by  any  but  by  a  Minister  of  the  word 
lawfully  ordained."  § 

Who  may  be  admitted  to  the  Lord's  Supper  ? 

Communicants  in  good  and  regular  standing.  But  the 
ignorant,  the  profane,  the  scandalous,  and  those  who  se- 
cretly indulge  in  any  known  sin,  are  to  be  warned  not 
to  come  to  the  Lord's  table.  ||      Persons  under  charges 

*  Directory  for  Worship,  ch.  vii.,  sect.  ii.  f  Ibid.,  sect.  v. 

J  Shorter  Catechism,  Q.  96. 

§  Confession  of  Faith,  ch.  xxvii.,  sect.  iv.     See  p.  83. 
II  Confession  of  Faith,  ch.  xxix.,  sect.  viii. ;  Larger  Catechism,  Q.  173 ; 
Directory  for  Worship,  ch.  viii.,  sect.  iv. 


lord's  supper.  91 

may  be  prevented,  by  the  order  of  Session,  from  commu- 
ning until  the  charges  can  be  examined.*  Communicants 
may  also  be  advised  by  the  Session  not  to  partake  when- 
ever it  is  deemed  expedient  for  their  edification  or  that 
of  the  church  that  such  advice  be  given.  Persons  pro- 
fessing faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  obedience  to  him,  are 
to  be  received  by  the  Session  into  the  membership  of  the 
church,  and  welcomed  to  the  communion.  Members  in 
good  and  regular  standing  in  other  churches  are  also  to 
be  received  by  the  Session,  on  the  presentation  of  proper 
certificates  of  dismission. f  "  The  years  of  discretion  in 
young  Christians  cannot  be  precisely  fixed.  This  must 
be  left  to  the  prudence  of  the  eldership.  The  officers  of 
the  church  are  the  judges  of  the  qualifications  of  those 
to  be  admitted  to  sealing  ordinances,  and  of  the  time  when 
it  is  proper  to  admit  young  Christians  to  them."  J 

It  is  customary  to  invite  all  Christians  present  to  unite 
in  the  service  who  are  in  good  and  regular  standing  in 
other  evangelical  churches.  But  "it  is  not  in  accordance 
with  the  spirit  and  usage  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  to 
extend  such  invitations"  to  persons  who  are  not  members 
of  any  evangelical  Church.  §  "The  language  of  the  book 
("Directory  for  Worship,"  ch.  viii.,  sect,  iv.)  relied  upon 
by  some  to  authorize  indiscriminate  communion  is  not 
correctly  interpreted  by  them.  Although  in  describing 
the  persons  there  invited  to  the  Lord's  table  church- 
membership  is  not  expressed,  it  is  clearly  implied."  || 

Wliat  are  tokens  ? 

Tokens  are  pieces  of  metal,  bone  or  cardboard,  some- 

*  Book  of  Discipline,  ch.  iv.,  sect,  xviii. 

f  Form  of  Government,  ch.  ix.,  sect.  vi. ;  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  130. 

X  Directory  for  Worship,  ch.  ix.,  sect.  ii.     See  p.  136. 

i  Presb'jlerian  Digest,  p.  609.  ||  Minutes  G.  A.  1876,  p.  79. 


92      OF   ORDINANCES    IN    A    PARTICULAR   CHURCH. 

times  with  a  text  of  Scripture  written  thereon,  which  were 
formerly  in  this  country,  and  still  are  in  Scotland  and 
Ireland,  given  by  the  Session  to  each  communicant  before 
the  administration  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  to  indicate  the 
approval  by  the  Session  of  their  presence  at  the  table. 

What  kind  of  wine  may  be  used  ? 

In  answer  to  several  overtures  on  communion  wine,  the 
Assembly  answered,  ''that  the  control  of  this  matter  be 
left  to  the  Sessions  of  the  several  churches,  with  the  earn- 
est recommendation  that  the  purest  wine  attainable  be 
used."*  In  1881  the  Assembly  was  asked  "if  the  use 
of  fermented  wine  is  necessary  to  the  proper  observance 
of  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  if  our  churches  are  at  liberty 
to  use  unferraented  wine  if  they  can  get  it,"  and  replied, 
"  The  General  Assembly  has  always  recognized  the  right  of 
each  church  Session  to  determine  what  is  bread  and  what  is 
wine."     "No  new  legislation  is  needed  on  the  subject." f 

Where  may  the  Lord's  Supper  be  administered  ? 

In  the  church,  on  the  Sabbath,  after  due  notice  and 
after  some  preparatory  service.  J 

"  It  was  moved  that  the  restriction  laid  by  the  last 
General  Assembly  on  our  Missionaries,  which  confines 
them  to  adminster  the  ordinance  of  the  Lord's  Supper  in 
such  places  only  where  there  are  church  officers  regularly 
appointed,  be  repealed,  and  it  is  hereby  repealed  accord- 
ingly"  (1798). 

As  a  general  principle,  a  Minister  may  not  administer 
the  communion  within  the  bounds  of  a  congregation  with 
which  he  is  not  connected,  without  the  consent  of  the 
Minister  and  Session ;  yet  there  may  be  exceptions  under 
peculiar  circumstances. 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  1877,  p.  542.  f  Ibid.,  1881,  p.  548. 

X  Directmy  for  Worship,  ch.  viii.,  sect.  iii. 


FASTING,    ETC.  93 

The  O.  S.  Assembly  in  1863,  while  reasserting  the  doc- 
trine of  the  "Confession  of  Faith,"  ch.  xxix.,  sect,  iv., 
that  the  "receiving  of  this  sacrament  by  a  Priest  or  any 
other  alone"  is  "contrary  to  the  nature  of  this  sacrament 
and  to  the  institution  of  Christ,"  yet  in  cases  of  protracted 
sickness  or  approaching  death,  the  Pastor,  with  an  Elder, 
may  adminster  the  sacrament  to  the  sick  and  other  com- 
municants, having  given  proper  instruction  concerning 
the  ordinance.  A  record  of  the  fact  must  be  entered  on 
the  minutes  of  the  Session.* 

How  frequently  should  the  sacrament  be  administered? 

"  It  is  to  be  celebrated  frequently,  but  how  often  may 
be  determined  by  the  Minister  and  eldership  of  each  con- 
gregation, as  they  may  judge  most  for  edification."  f 

Should  days  for  fasting  and  thanksgiving  be  observed  ? 

"  It  has  been  customary,  in  some  parts  of  our  church, 
to  observe  a  fast  before  the  Lord's  Supper."  "'  There  is 
no  day,  under  the  gospel,  commanded  to  be  kept  holy, 
except  the  Lord's  Day,  which  is  the  Christian  Sabbath. 
Nevertheless,  to  observe  days  of  fasting  and  thanks- 
giving, as  the  extraordinary  dispensations  of  Divine 
Providence  may  direct,  we  judge  both  scriptural  and 
rational."  | 

Who  may  appoint  such  days? 

"It  must  be  left  to  the  judgment  and  discretion  of 
every  Christian  and  family  to  determine  when  it  is  proper 
to  observe  a  private  fast  or  thanksgiving,  and  to  the  church 
Session  to  determine  for  particular  congregations,  and  to 
Presbyteries  and  Synods  to  determine  for  larger  districts. 
When  it  is  deemed  expedient  that  a  fast  or  thanksgiving 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  667,  668. 

f  Directory  for  Worship,  ch.  viii.,  sect.  i. 

X  Ibid.,  ch.  viii.,  sect.  vi. ;  ch.  xiv.,  sects,  i.  and  ii. 


94      OF  ORDINANCES   IN   A    PARTICULAR   CHURCH. 

should  be  general,  the  call  of  it  must  be  judged  of  by  tlie 
Synod  or  General  Assembly.  And  if  at  any  time  the 
civil  power  should  think  it  proper  to  appoint  a  fast  or 
thanksgiving,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  Ministers  and  people 
of  our  communion,  as  we  live  under  a  Christian  govern- 
ment, to  pay  all  due  respect  to  the  same."  * 

Days  of  fasting  were  appointed  by  the  Synod  in  1756 
on  the  occasion  of  the  French  war,  on  the  war  with  Spain 
in  1762,  on  account  of  the  troubles  with  England  in 
1777-80,  by  the  Assembly  before  and  during  the  sec- 
ond war  with  England  in  1808-14,  by  the  O.  S.  and 
N.  S.  Assemblies  on  the  outbreak  of  the  civil  war  in 
1861. 

Days  of  prayer  have  been  appointed  by  the  Church 
for  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath,  the  conversion  of  the 
world,  etc. 

The  World's  Week  of  Prayer,  the  first  week  in  Jan- 
uary, for  the  conversion  of  the  world,  has  been  appointed 
annually  since  1859,  until  "the  custom  has  come  to  have 
almost  the  force  of  law."  f  In  1880  there  was  some  dis- 
satisfaction manifested  in  the  choice  made  by  the  commit- 
tee of  the  Evangelical  Alliance  of  subjects  for  the  Week 
of  Prayer,  and  a  special  committee  was  appointed  to  pro- 
pose subjects  to  be  recommended  by  the  Assembly.  This 
was  done.  I  The  next  year  the  Assembly  declined  to 
propose  subjects,  but  determined  to  follow  the  programme 
annually  set  forth  by  the  Evangelical  Alliance,  and  or- 
dered a  request  to  be  "  forwarded  in  due  season  from  this 
General  Assembly  to  said  committee  of  the  Alliance  that, 
in  making  out  their  programme  for  the  Week  of  Prayer, 
they  would  recognize,  as  the  supreme  object  of  prayer,  the 

*  Directory  for  Worship,  ch.  xiv.,  seel.  iv. 

t  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  697-702,  J  Minutes  G.  A.  1880,  p.  51. 


MAERIAGE.  95 

influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  particular  objects  pro- 
posed for  each  day."  * 

The  last  Thursday  in  January  has  been  observed  as  a 
day  for  prayer  for  colleges  and  seminaries,  for  the  con- 
version of  the  baptized  members  of  the  Church  and  the 
increase  of  the  ministry.  Formerly  the  last  Thursday 
of  February  was  appointed.f 

In  New  England  an  annual  fast  day  is  yearly  appointed 
by  the  governors  of  the  several  States,  and  since  the  close 
of  the  late  civil  war  the  President  of  the  United  States 
and  the  governors  of  the  diiferent  States  appoint  a  day 
in  November  as  a  day  of  thanksgiving. 

Is  marriage  a  sacrament  ? 

"  Marriage  is  not  a  sacrament,  nor  peculiar  to  the  Church 
of  Christ.  It  is  proper  that  every  commonwealth,  for 
the  good  of  society,  make  laws  to  regulate  marriage  which 
all  citizens  are  bound  to  obey."  | 

Who  may  perform  the  service  ? 

"  It  should  be  solemnized  by  a  lawful  Minister."  § 
"While  our  'Form  of  Government'  does  not  recognize 
Licentiates  as  Ministers  of  the  gospel,  yet  this  Assem- 
bly do  not  consider  them  as  violating  any  rules  of  the 
Church  by  solemnizing  marriage  in  those  States  where 
the  civil  laws  expressly  authorize  them  to  do  it."  So 
the  O.  S.  Assembly  decided  in  1844.||  Marriage  per- 
formed by  civil  officers,  or  otherwise  according  to  the 
laws  of  the  commonwealth,  while  not  approved  by  our 
Church,  are  nevertheless  to  be  recognized ;  as  the  mar- 
riage   before  a   magistrate   or   among   the    Society  of 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  1881,  p.  580. 

f  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  701 ;  Minutes  G.  A.  1881,  p.  580. 
X  Directory  for  Worship,  ch.  xi.,  sect.  i.  |  Ibid.,  sect.  ii. 

II  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  681. 


9G       OF   ORDINANCES    IN    A    PARTICULAR   CHURCH. 

Friends,  where  there  is  only  a  formal  public  announce- 
ment of  intention  and  signing  of  a  certificate.  Minis- 
ters should  be  careful  to  inform  themselves  of  the  laws 
of  the  State  in  regard  to  marriage  and  license,  and  to 
observe  them.  In  some  States  marriage  is  unlawful  if 
performed  by  a  Minister  who  is  not  a  resident  of  the 
State.  Special  care  should  be  taken  in  regard  to  minors 
desiring  to  be  married. 

Who  may  be  married  ? 

"  Christians  ought  to  marry  in  the  Lord."  *  "  It  is 
lawful  for  all  sorts  of  people  to  marry  who  are  able  with 
judgment  to  give  their  consent,  yet  it  is  the  duty  of 
Christians  to  marry  only  in  the  Lord."  ''  Such  as  pro- 
fess the  true  Reformed  religion  should  not  marry  with 
infidels,  papists  or  other  idolaters ;  neither  should  such 
as  are  godly  be  unequally  yoked  by  marrying  with  such 
as  are  notoriously  wicked  in  their  life  or  maintain  dam- 
nable heresies."  f 

"  The  parties  ought  to  be  of  such  years  of  discretion 
as  to  be  capable  of  making  their  own  choice ;  and  if  they 
be  under  age,  or  live  with  their  parents,  the  consent  of 
the  parents,  or  others  under  whose  care  they  are,  ought 
to  be  previously  obtained,  and  well  certified  to  the  Min- 
ister before  he  proceeds  to  solemnize  the  marriage. 
Parents  ought  not  to  compel  their  children  to  marry 
contrary  to  their  inclinations,  nor  deny  their  consent 
without  just  and  important  reasons." | 

In  1850  the  O.  S.  Assembly  was  asked  by  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Ningpo  in  regard  to  marriages  of  professed 
Christians  with  heathen.     The  overtures  were  referred 

*  Directory  for  Worsh  ip,  ch.  xi.,  sect.  ii. 

f  Confession  of  Faith,  ch.  xxiv.,  sect.  iii. 

X  Directory  for  Worship,  ch.  xi.,  sects,  iv.  and  v. 


MARRIAGE.  97 

back  to  the  Presbytery,  but  the  committee  recommended 
an  answer  which  does  not  seem  to  have  been  adopted  by 
the  Assembly — that  it  is  not  to  be  regarded,  in  the  cir- 
cumstances, "  as  sinful  universally  and  necessarily  for  a 
Christian  to  marry  a  heathen,"  nor  as  rendering  him 
liable  to  discipline,  except  in  circumstances  of  which  the 
missionaries  must  be  the  best  judges.* 

Wlio  are  forbidden  to  marry  ? 

"  Marriage  is  to  be  between  one  man  and  one  woman 
only ;  neither  is  it  lawful  for  any  man  to  havQ  more  than 
one  wife,  nor  for  any  woman  to  have  more  than  one  hus- 
band, at  the  same  time."  f 

The  Assembly  in  1879  recorded  its  grateful  acknow- 
ledffraent  to  God  that  "  by  a  recent  decision  of  the  Su- 
preme  Court  of  the  United  States  the  sin  of  polygamy 
has  been  declared  to  be  a  criminal  oiFence  against  the 
Constitution  and  the  laws  of  our  country,  and  that  under 
it  prosecution  and  conviction  have  followed,"  and  appealed 
"  to  the  patriotic  Christian  men  and  women  of  our  land 
to  use  their  united  influence  in  support  of  that  public 
sentiment,  now  formulated  into  legal  enactment,  which 
has  exposed  the  pretence  of  this  monstrous  practice  to 
be  a  religious  observance,  and  which  justly  holds  it  to 
companionship  with  other  vices  which  are  the  contempt 
and  abhorrence  of  mankind."  |  In  1881  the  Assembly 
repeated  its  testimony  against  this  enormous  wickedness, 
and  added:  "1.  We  therefore,  as  an  Assembly,  solemnly 
protest  before  God  and  before  men  against  this  heinous 
and  abominable  crime  as  a  foul  blot  on  the  face  of  our 
country,  for  the  existence  of  which  God  will  hold  the 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  682. 
f  Confession  of  Faith,  cli.  xxiv.,  sect.  i. 
i  Minutes  G.  A.  1879,  p.  58G. 
9  G 


98      OF   ORDINANCES    IN    A    PARTICULAR   CHURCH. 

nation  to  account,  and  for  which  he  will  surely  call  it 
into  judgment  except  the  evil  be  speedily  abated." 
2.  "We  rejoice  in  the  determination  of  the  President 
of  the  United  States,  as  expressed  in  his  Inaugural  Ad- 
dress, to  deal  vigorously  with  this  iniquity ;  and  we  as- 
sure him  of  our  sympathy  and  support  in  all  lawful  and 
just  efforts  for  its  extinction,  praying  him  not  to  with- 
hold his  hand."  3.  "  We  reiterate  our  hearty  approval 
of  the  stand  taken  by  Governor  Murray  of  Utah  and 
his  counselors,  and  by  the  United  States  courts  of  the 
Territory,  in  hostility  to  polygamous  marriages."  4. 
"We  memorialize  the  National  Legislature  to  enact 
v/hatever  laws  may  seem  most  wise  and  most  efficient 
for  the  utter  obliteration  of  this  vice,  Avhether  as  an 
organized  system  or  as  an  individual  practice."  5.  "And 
we  urge  our  own  members,  without  respect  to  party  lines, 
zealously  to  exert  their  influence,  in  every  lawful  method, 
for  the  enactment  of  an  amendment  to  the  National  Con- 
stitution that  shall  for  ever  prohibit  the  existence  of 
polygamy  in  the  nation."  This  action  was  ordered  to 
be  sent  to  the  President  and  Congress,  "as  conveying 
the  unanimous  sentiment  of  the  ministry  and  member- 
ship of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States."* 
A  man  whose  wife  is  living  may  not  marry,  even 
though  for  ten  years  she  refuses  to  follow  him  to  this 
country  and  to  recognize  him  as  her  husband.  If,  how- 
ever, he  can  clearly  prove  to  the  Session  that  he  has 
scriptural  grounds  for  divorce,  and  has  been  unjustly 
refused  by  the  civil  courts,  he  may  marry  and  may  be 
admitted  to  church  privileges.  "  But  in  such  case  it  is 
necessary  that  the  most  authentic  evidence  be  required 
and  great  caution  be  used,  both  that  the  proceedings  of 
*  Minutes  O.  A.  1S81,  p.  550. 


MARRIAGE. 


99 


the  Church  may  not  be  inconsistent  with  the  civil  law, 
and  that  a  door  be  not  opened  to  laxness  on  this  import- 
ant subject  of  morals."  * 

A  man  uncertain  (or  without  satisfactoiy  proof)  of  the 
first  wife's  death  may  not  marry  again.  A  Minister  hav- 
ing thus  married  may  not  officiate  as  a  Minister  until  he 
obtain  satisfactory  proof  of  his  wife's  deatji.t 

In  1875  the  Assembly  was  asked  what  should  be 
done  with  a  heathen  convert  who  has  two  wives,  and  an- 
swered that  bigamy  "  cannot  be  perpetuated  by  one  who 
has  become  a  follower  of  Christ,  neither  can  it  be  justified 
by  his  Church.  Converts  from  heathenism  should  be 
treated  veiy  tenderly  in  this  most  painful  situation,  and 
yet  they  should  be  dealt  with  in  all  fidelity ;  and  when 
a  converted  man  is  called  on  to  separate  from  all  but  his 
first  and  only  wife,  he  should  be  enjoined  to  make  suit- 
able provision  for  her  support  that  is  put  away,  and  for 
her  children,  if  she  have  any,  to  the  full  extent  of  his 
ability."! 

Divorced  persons  may  not  marry  unless  the  divorce 
has  been  obtained  on  scriptural  grounds,  which  our  "  Con- 
fession of  Faith  "  (ch.  xxiv.,  sect,  vi.)  says  to  be  "  nothing 
but  adultery  or  such  willful  desertion  as  can  no  way  be 
remedied  by  the  Church  or  civil  magistrate."  So  the 
N.  S.  Assembly  has  determined  in  the  case  of  two  Min- 
isters, ratifv'ing  the  action  of  Presbytery  in  deposing  and 
excommunicating  them.  § 

Drunkenness,  abuse,  neglect,  incompatibility  of  dis- 
position, etc.  are  not  sufficient  cause  for  divorce.  Nor 
is  it  sufficient  that  scriptural  grounds  are  known  to 
exist :  they  must  be  alleged  and  proved  as  the  reasons 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  683.  f  Ibid.,  p.  GS2. 

t  Minutes  G.  A.,  p.  507.  §  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  684. 


100     OF    ORDINANCES    IN    A    PARTICULAR    CHURCH. 

Oil  account  of  which  the  divorce  is  granted.*  To  the 
question,  "Whether  on  full  proof  of  adultery  by  one 
party  the  Presbytery  has  a  right  to  declare  the  marriage 
so  far  void  as  that  the  innocent  party  may  marry  again 
without  being  liable  to  church  censure?"  the  Synod  in 
1785  replied  in  the  affirmative,  but  only  by  a  small  ma- 
jority.f  The  ''Confession  of  Faith"  (ch.  xxiv.,  sect,  v.) 
says :  "  In  the  case  of  adultery  after  marriage,  it  is  law- 
ful for  the  innocent  party  to  sue  out  a  divorce,  and  after 
the  divorce  to  marry  another  as  if  the  offending  party 
were  dead."  It  would  seem,  therefore,  that  the  guilty 
party  could  not  marry  again.  This  is  the  opinion  of 
very  many,  and  is  sometimes  stated  by  the  civil  courts. 
Others  assert  that  divorce  so  dissolves  the  marriage  that 
both  parties  are  free  to  marry. 

Persons  may  not  marry  who  are  "within  the  degrees  of 
consanguinity  or  affinity  prohibited  in  the  word  of  God."  | 
"  Nor  can  such  incestuous  marriages  ever  be  made  law- 
ful by  any  law  of  man  or  consent  of  parties,  so  as  those 
persons  may  live  together  as  man  and  wife.  The  man 
may  not  marry  any  of  his  M'ife's  kindred  nearer  in  blood 
than  he  may  of  his  own,  nor  the  woman  of  her  hus- 
band's kindred  nearer  in  blood  than  of  her  own."§  The 
Synod  or  Assembly  has  judicially  decided  that  the  fol- 
lowing marriages  are  unlawful,  and  render  the  parties 
liable  to  discipline : 

1.  Marriaffc  with  a  brother's  widow.  But  in  a  caso 
where  the  marriage  had  been  contracted  above  fifteen 
years  the  Assembly  deemed  it  inexpedient  to  express  any 
opinion,  but  referred  the  case  to  the  Session,  "  to  act  ac- 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  C84.  f  Ibid.,  p.  683. 

J  Directory  for  Worship,  cli.  xi.,  sect.  iii. 
§  Confession  of  Faith,  ch.  xxiv.,  "feed.  iv. 


MARRIAGE.  101 

cording  to  their  own  best  light  and  the  circumstances  in 
which  they  find  themselves  placed." 

2.  Marriage  with  a  wife's  brother's  daughter.  This 
is  not,  in  express  terms,  forbidden  by  the  Levitical  law, 
"■  yet  as  it  is  contrary  to  the  custom  of  Protestant  nations 
in  general,  and  an  evidence  of  great  untenderness,  and  so 
opposite  to  such  precepts  of  the  gospel  as-  require  Chris- 
tians to  avoid  things  of  ill  report  and  all  appearance  of 
evil,  and  what  is  offensive  to  the  Church,"  the  persons 
should  be  rebuked  by  the  Session,  and  others  warned 
against  such  offensive  conduct.  If  they  submit  to  the 
rebuke  and  are  in  other  respects  regular  professors,  they 
are  not  to  be  debarred  from  church  privileges. 

3.  Marriage  with  a  deceased  wife's  sister's  daughter. 
Such  a  union  is  declared  "  not  to  be  forbidden  by  the 
laws  of  God,"  but  "  contrary  to  the  general  practice  of 
Protestant  churches  and  the  feelings  and  opinions  of 
many  serious  Christians  among  ourselves,  and  therefore 
ouffht  to  be  discountenanced."  Such  cases  are  referred 
to  the  several  judicatories. 

4.  Marriage  with  a  sister's  daughter.  "  Such  a  con- 
nection demands  the  judicial  action  of  the  Church,  and 
if  not  repented  of  should  incur  church  censure."  * 

5.  Marriage  of  the  relicts  of  a  brother  and  of  a  sister. 
This  is  inexpedient,  but  not  prohibited  by  the  Levitical 
law. 

6.  Marriage  with  a  half-brother's  widow.  In  1760  the 
majority  of  the  Synod  thought  that  this  relation  was 
contrary  to  the  laws  of  God  and  of  the  land,  and  of  a 
sinful  and  dangerous  tendency;  but  as  some  learned 
members  were  not  so  clear  on  this  point,  the  decision 
was  deferred   for  the  year,  when  it  was  decided  to  be 

*  Decision  of  N.  S.  Assembly  in  1853. 
9  * 


102     OF    ORDINANCES    IN    A    PARTICULAR    CHURCH. 

unlawful,  and  demanding  suspension  from  the  commu- 
nion while  the  relation  was  continued.* 

7.  Marriage  with  a  deceased  wife's  sister.  This  has  been 
frequently  before  the  Church.  In  1761  it  was  decided  to 
be  contrary  to  the  Levitical  law  and  the  civil  laws  of  the 
land,  and  worthy  of  church  discipline.  In  1783  the  Synod 
decided  "  thatalthough  it  may  not  be  a  direct  violation  of  the 
express  words  of  that  (Levitical)  law,  yet  as  it  is  contrary 
to  the  practice  of  the  Protestant  Church  in  general,  and 
an  evidence  of  great  untenderness  toward  many  serious 
and  well-disposed  Christians,  and  may,  through  the  preju- 
dices or  generally  received  opinions  of  the  members  of  our 
Church,  be  productive  of  many  disagreeable  consequences, 
the  persons  contracting  such  marriages  are  highly  censur- 
able, and  the  practice  ought  to  be  disallowed  in  express 
terms  by  the  Synod ;  and  we  do  therefore  condemn  such 
marriages  as  imprudent  and  unseasonable.  Yet  as  some 
things  may  be  done  very  imprudently  and  unseasonably 
which  when  done  ought  not  to  be  annulled,  we  are  of  the 
opinion  that  it  is  not  necessary  that  the  persons  whom  this 
judgment  respects  to  separate  from  one  another."  Yet 
they  must  be  solemnly  admonished  by  the  Session  before 
they  be  received  to  the  communion.  The  Synod  recom- 
mended its  members  to  abstain  from  solemnizing  such 
marriages,  and  to  discountenance  them.  In  1821  the 
marriage  with  a  deceased  Avife's  sister  and  all  similar 
connections  were  declared  to  be  "highly  inexpedient, 
unfriendly  to  domestic  purity  and  exceedingly  offensive 
to  a  large  portion  of  our  churches."  Yet  the  Assembly 
was  by  "no  means  prepared  to  decide  that  such  marriages 
as  that  in  question  are  so  plainly  prohibited  in  Scripture, 
and  so  undoubtedly  incestuous,  as  necessarily  to  infer  the 

*  Eecords  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  pp.  300,  303,  312. 


MARRIAGE.  103 

exclusion  of  those  who  contract  them  from  church  privi- 
leges."  The  case  was  referred  back  to  the  Session.  In  1826 
one  appealed  from  the  decision  of  Presbytery  suspend- 
ing him  from  the  communion  for  marrying  his  deceased 
wife's  sister.    The  Assembly  refused  to  sustain  his  appeal, 
on  the  ground  that  until  the  "Confession  of  Faith"  (ch. 
xxiv.,  sect,  iv.)  was  altered  the  sentence  must  stand.    The 
Presbyteries,  by  a  vote  of  50  against  18,  refused  to  erase 
the  section.     In  1842  the  O.  S.  Assembly  affirmed  the 
decision  of  a  Presbytery  suspending  a  Minister  from  his 
office  and  from  the  communion  of  the  Church  for  this 
offence.     Three  years  later  it  granted  the  prayer  of  a 
memorial  recommending  the  Presbytery  to  restore  him 
to  the  communion  and  the  ministry,  as  the  ends  of  dis- 
cipline in   his  case  have  been  attained.     In  1848  the 
O.  S.  Assembly  refused  to  sustain  the  appeal  of  a  man 
who  was  suspended  from  the  church  for  marrying  his 
deceased  wife's  sister.     In  1879  the  Assembly,  in  an- 
swer to  overtures  proposing  that  constitutional  steps  be 
taken  "toward  amending  the  'Confession  of  Faith,'  by 
the  omission  of  the  sentence  which  covers  the  matter 
of  the  marriage  of  a  deceased  wife's  sister,"  resolved, 
"That  in  the  judgment  of  the  Assembly  it  is  not  ad- 
visable at  this  time  to  take  any  action  on  this  much- 
disputed  subject."  * 

Should  divorces  be  discouraged  ? 

"Although  the  corruption  of  man  be  such  as  is  apt  to 
study  arguments  unduly  to  put  asunder  those  whom  God 
hath  joined  together  in  marriage,  yet  nothing  but  adultery, 
or  such  willful  desertion  as  can  no  way  be  remedied  by 
the  Church  or  civil  magistrate,  is  cause  sufficient  of  dis- 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  1879,  p.  624.  For  the  above  decisions  see  Presbyte- 
rian Digest,  pp.  685-691. 


101     OF    ORDINANCES    IN    A    PARTICULAR    CHURCFT. 

solviDg  the  bond  of  marriage ;  wherein  a  public  and 
orderly  course  of  proceeding  is  to  be  observed,  and  the 
persons  concerned  in  it  not  left  to  their  own  wills  and 
discretion  in  the  case."  *  The  O.  S.  and  N.  S.  Assem- 
blies frequently  called  attention  to  the  alarming  tendency 
in  some  parts  of  the  land  to  disregard  the  sacredness  of 
the  marriage-tie,  and  expressed  their  "  abhorrence  of  any 
attempt  to  diminish  its  sanctity  or  to  extend  beyond  the 
warrant  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  the  grounds  of  divorce."  f 
In  1872  the  Assembly  uttered  "its  solemn  protest  against 
such  loose  opinions  (on  marriage  and  divorce,  practically 
demoralizing),  and  calls  upon  all  its  Ministers  to  use  their 
moral  influence  to  create  a  more  healthy  sentiment  in  the 
community  and  a  thoroughly  scriptural  practice  in  the 
Church."!  In  1874  the  Assembly  reaffirmed  the  deliv- 
erance of  the  O.  S.  Assembly  of  1869,  expressing  pain  at 
the  increasing  prevalence  of  unscriptural  views  of  the 
marriage  relation,  in  consequence  of  which  the  obliga- 
tions are  often  disregarded,  and  separations  of  husband 
and  wife  and  divorces  for  slight  and  unwarrantable  rea- 
sons are  becoming  more  frequent  eveiy  year.  Ministers 
are  urged  to  give  proper  instruction  to  their  people, 
and  are  warned  not  to  join  in  marriage  any  who  are  di- 
vorced on  unscri])tural  grounds. 

What  is  foeticide  ? 

The  destruction  of  an  unborn  child.  The  deliverance 
of  the  O.  S.  Asscm])ly  in  1869,  reaffirmed  by  the  Assem- 
bly of  1874,  speaks  of  this  crime  as  well  as  of  divorce : 
"  Nor  can  we  shut  our  eyes  to  the  fact  that  the  horrible 
crime  of  infiintieide,  especially  in  the  form  of  destruction 
by  parents  of  their  own  offspring  before  birth,  also  j^re- 

*  Covfession  of  Faith,  ch.  xxiv.,  sect.  vi. 

t  Presbyterian  DigeM,  pp.494,  684.  t  Ibid.,  p.  691. 


MARRIAGE.  105 

vails  to  an  alarming  extent."  The  Assembly  regards  this 
"  with  abhorrence,  as  a  crime  against  G<xl  and  against  na- 
ture ;  and  as  the  frequency  of  such  murders  can  no  longer 
be  concealed,  we  hereby  warn  those  that  are  guilty  of  this 
crime  that  except  they  repent  they  cannot  inherit  eternal 
life."  "All  who  seek  to  avoid  the  responsibilities  and 
cares  connected  with  bringing  up  children  not  only  deprive 
themselves  of  one  of  the  greatest  blessings  of  life,  and  fly 
in  the  face  of  God's  decrees,  but  do  violence  to  their  own 
natures,  and  will  be  found  out  of  their  sins  even  in  this 
world."  * 

How  are  clandestine  marriages  to  be  regarded  ? 

Ministers  are  to  use  great  caution  not  to  countenance 
them,  especially  when  they  have  reason  to  suspect  that 
the  consent  of  parents  or  guardians  is  withheld.f 

May  an  engagement  of  marriage  be  broken  ? 

The  parties  "  may  lawfully  agree  to  release  each  other 
from  the  promise."  But  rash  engagements  and  unwar- 
rantable methods  of  engaging  are  culpable;  and  in  1750 
a  public  rebuke  was  administered  by  the  Synod.| 

Should  the  purpose  of  marriage  be  published  ? 

"  Marriage  is  of  public  nature.  The  welfare  of  civil 
society,  the  happiness  of  families  and  the  credit  of  re- 
ligion are  deeply  interested  in  it.  Therefore  the  pur- 
pose of  marriage  ought  to  be  sufficiently  published  a 
proper  time  previously  to  the  solemnization  of  it."§ 
The  Assembly  was  asked  in  1820  what  was  a  sufficient 
publication  of  the  purpose  of  marriage,  and  replied  that 
''  the  Presbyteries  are  the  best  judges  in  the  case."  f  In 
the  old  countries,  and  formerly  in  this,  the  bans  were 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  1874,  P-  26;  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  494,  495. 
f  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  691.  J  Assembly's  Digest,  p.  189. 

§  Directory  for  Worship,  cli.  xi.,  sect.  vi. 


106     OF    ORDINANCES    IN    A    PARTICULAR    CHURCH. 

publishec}  in  the  church  at  least  twice  before  the  mar- 
riage could  take  place.  At  present  an  acknowledgment 
of  the  engagement  in  both  families  and  among  those  in  • 
terested  is  considered  sufficient  publication. 

What  Catechisms  have  been  adopted  by  the  Church  ? 

"  The  '  Larger  and  Shorter  Catechisms  of  the  West- 
minster Assembly  of  Divines '  are  included  in,  and  do 
constitute  an  integral  part  of,  the  standards  of  this 
Church."  This  was  distinctly  affirmed  in  the  adopting 
act  in  1729  and  1788;  it  was  reasserted  in  1832.  These 
Catechisms  were  recognized  as  part  of  the  standards  dur- 
ing the  separation  of  the  O.  S.  and  N.  S.  branches;  they 
formed  part  of  the  doctrinal  and  ecclesiastical  basis  at 
the  reunion;  and  in  1872  the  Assembly  approved  "of 
the  revised  copy  of  the  '  Shorter  Catechism/  with  the 
ten  Commandments,  Lord's  Prayer  and  Creed,  presented 
by  the  Board  of  Publication,  and  hereby  adopt  the  same 
as  the  standard  edition  of  our  Church."* 

In  1870  the  Assembly  recognized  the  "Heidelberg 
Catechism "  as  "  a  valuable  scriptural  compendium  of 
Christian  doctrine  and  duty,"  and  approved  of  its  use 
for  the  instruction  of  children  by  those  churches  which 
may  desire  it.f 

Who  should  be  taught  the  Catechisms  ? 

Parents  are  exhorted  at  the  baptism  of  their  children 
to  the  careful  performance  of  their  duty  in  teaching  them 
in  the  principles  of  our  holy  religion.  And  the  Cate- 
chisms are  commended  to  them  as  excellent  summaries 
of  doctrine,  and  as  important  helps  in  their  performance 
of  this  duty.| 

Baptized  children  "are  under  the  insjiection  and  gov- 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  45,  56,  91.  f  Rid.,  p.  56. 

J  Directory  fur  Worship,  ch.  vii.,  sect,  iv.' 


CATECHISING.  107 

ernnient  of  the  Church,  and  are  to  be  taught  to  read  and 
repeat  the  Catechism,  etc."  * 

This  has  been  frequently  insisted  upon  by  both  branches 
of  the  Church,  and  by  the  reunited  Church. f 

All  the  children  and  youth  in  the  Sabbath-schools 
should  be  thus  taught.  In  1878  the  Assembly  recom- 
mended the  Board  of  Publication  to  incorporate  in  its 
system  of  Sabbath-school  lesson-papers  a  brief  exposi- 
tion of  the  answers  of  the  "Shorter  Catechism,"  and 
through  the  Sessions  urged  on  teacliers  and  parents  the 
duty  of  teaching  to  the  children  the  doctrinal  and  gov- 
ernmental truths  of  our  Church.  J 

Candidates  for  licensure  were  required  by  the  O.  S. 
Assembly  in  1868  to  be  well  versed  in  the  "Shorter 
Catechism,"  and  in  1877  the  Assembly  resolved  that  all 
Candidates  under  the  care  of  the  Board  commit  to  mem- 
ory the  whole  Catechism.  § 

By  whom  should  the  Catechism  be  taught  ? 

By  parents,  Sabbath-school  teachers,  and  by  the  Pas- 
tors and  Elders,  §  The  N.  S.  Assembly  in  1849  declared 
"  that  the  institution  of  Sabbath-schools  does  not  exon- 
erate ministers  and  parents  from  the  duty  of  teaching 
the  '  Shorter  Catechism '  to  the  children  of  the  Church." 
All  Ministers  and  Elders  were  urged  to  teach  diligently 
the  youth  in  the  "  Shorter  Catechism,"  which  was  rec- 
ommended as  a  text-book  in  the  Sabbath-school.  ||  Sim- 
ilar deliverances  were  made  by  the  O.  S.  Assembly  in 
1840,  1846,  1854.1[     And  in  1870  the  Assembly  re- 

*  Directory  for  Worship,  ch.  ix.,  sect.  i. 

t  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  642,  643,  673,  705, 

X  Minutes  O.  A.  1S78,  p.  31. 

I  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  398;  Minutes  G.  A.  1877,  p.  535. 

II  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  642. 

|[  Assembly's  Digest,  pp.  183,  185,  186. 


108    OF    ORDINANCES   IN    A    PARTICULAR    CHURCH. 

minded  parents  that  no  instruction  in  the  Sabbath -school 
or  elsewhere  can  supersede  or  supply  their  duty  of  cate- 
chising their  children.* 

The  custom  in  Scotland,  and  to  some  extent  in  this 
country,  was  for  the  Pastor,  with  one  or  more  Elders,  to 
visit  in  turn  the  different  districts  of  the  cono-reiration 
ajid  catechise  the  families  in  their  several  houses  or  in 
some  place  of  meeting.  This  usage  has  given  place  in 
this  country  to  that  of  an  annual  or  quarterly  catechising 
of  the  children  by  the  Pastor,  or  of  giving  regular  instruc- 
tion to  the  Sabbath-school  each  Sabbath  in  one  or  more 
answers  in  the  "  Shorter  Catechism." 

When  should  this  instruction  be  given  ? 

"  Let  the  heads  of  families  be  careful  to  instruct  their 
children  and  servants  in  the  principles  of  religion.  .  .  . 
We  are  of  opinion  that  the  Sabbath  evenings  after  public 
worship  should  be  sacredly  preserved  for  this  purpose."  f 

What  is  a  Catechist  ? 

Catechists  are  pious  men,  laymen,  not  generally  Candi- 
dates for  the  ministry,  but  formally  authorized  to  instruct 
the  ignorant  in  the  principles  of  religion  as  set  forth  in 
the  Catechism.  In  1800  it  was  proposed  that  an  order  of 
men  called  Catechists  be  employed  among  the  Indians, 
the  blacks  and  other  ignorant  persons.  These  Catechists 
were  to  be  examined  by  Presbytery,  and  receive  a  cer- 
tificate and  recommendation,  without  which  they  should 
not  be  recognized.  The  Assembly  refused  to  take  imme- 
diate action,  but  considered  it  expedient  that  no  Catechist 
should  be  sent  out  without  further  orders  from  the  Assem- 
bly.    In  1806  the  plan  of  licensing  uneducated  men  as 

*  Pre.sthyterian  Digest,  p.  705. 

t  Directory  for  Worship,  ch.  xv.,  sect.  v. ;  Breshjtcrian  Digest,  pp. 
703-705. 


COLLECTIOXS. 


109 


CJatechists  proposed  by  Eev.  David  Rice  was  not  sanctioned 
by  the  Assembly,  as  it  was  considered  "  dangerous  to  the 
Church  to  employ  illiterate  men  as  exhorters  or  catechet- 
ical instructors,"  * 
What  is  a  Catechumen? 

A  Catechumen  is  one  under  catechetical  instruction.    In 
the  early  Church  the  applicants  for  baptism  were,  by  the 
imposition  of  hands  and  the  sign  of  the  cross,  recognized 
as  such,  and  were  placed  under  systematic  instruction  in 
the  doctrines  of  Christianity.     They  were  called  Cate- 
chumens. 
What  collections  should  be  taken  in  the  churcli? 
"Making  collections  for  the  yoor  and  other  pious  jmr- 
poses"    Provision  was  made  for  the  poor  in  the  Old-Tes- 
tament dispensation  (Ex.  23  :  9-11 ;  Lev.  19  :  10).     The 
first  impulse  of  the  Christian  Church  was  to  part  their 
possessions  and  goods  to  all  men  as  every  man  had  need 
(Acts  2  :  45).     The  Apostles,  in  giving  the  right  hand 
of  fellowship  to  Paul  and  Barnabas  as  they  departed  to 
their  mission  to  the  heathen,  charged  them  to  remember 
the  poor,  which  Paul  was  forward  to  do  (Gal.  2  :  10). 
The  first  general  collection  of  which  we  read  was  for  the 
poor  saints  in  Jerusalem  (Rom.  15  :  24-27).     The  duty 
of  contributing  to  the  support  of  Ministers  and  for  the 
extension  of  the  Church  in  its  various  operations  is  en- 
forced frequently,  as  in  Matt.  10  :  10 ;  Rom.  10  :  15  ; 
15  :  27 ;  1  Cor.  9  :  7-14. 

In  the  Presbyterian  Church  the  Deacons  are  ordained 
to  receive  and  distribute  the  poor  fund.f  As  early  as 
1707  the  General  Presbytery  called  the  attention  of  the 
Church  to  missions.  At  the  first  meeting  of  the  Synod 
(1717)  a  fund  was  raised  for  pious  uses— missionary 
*  Assembly's  Digest,  pp.  349,  350.  t  See  p.  G3. 

10 


110    OF   ORDINANCES    IN    A    PARTICULAR    CHURCH. 

operations.  All  churches  were  recommended  to  take 
yearly  collections  for  its  increase.*  The  General  Assem- 
bly has  divided  the  general  work  of  the  Church,  and 
appointed  various  Boards  or  Standing  Committees  to 
take  the  supervision  of  the  several  parts.  These  have 
been  recommended  to  the  confidence  of  the  churches, 
which  are  enjoined  to  make  yearly  contributions  to 
them.  In  1755  the  Synod  declared  that  it  is  incon- 
sistent with  our  church  government  for  the  Session  to 
prohibit  the  synodical  appointments  concerning  collec- 
tions. This  was  repeated  in  1790.t  In  1872  the  As- 
sembly enjoined  "upon  all  the  churches  the  practice  of 
periodical  giving  to  all  the  causes  recommended  by  the 
General  Assembly,  according  to  the  principles  com- 
mended by  the  word  of  God."  The  Presbyteries  were 
required  to  question  its  Pastors  if  the  directions  of  the 
Assembly  had  been  complied  with.  And  no  church 
neglecting  to  contribute  to  the  several  Boards  should 
receive  aid  from  the  funds  of  the  Church.  |  In  1879 
the  Assembly  declared  that  "the  members  of  all  our 
congregations  have  a  right  to  an  opportunity  to  con- 
tribute at  least  once  a  year  to  each  of  the  Boards,  as 
required  by  the  highest  authority  of  the  Church,  and 
the  Sessions  of  the  churches  have  no  riglit  to  withhold 
that  oj)portunity  " — "  that  it  is  the  duty  of  each  ISIinis- 
ter  in  charge  to  give  information,  set  fortli  the  privilege 
of  giving,  and  urge  the  claims  of  each  Board  in  connec- 
tion with  the  annual  collection.'"  § 

l^esides  these  permanent  objects  of  benevolence  the 
Assembly,  Synod  and  Presbytery  may  recommend  from 

*  Assembly's  Digest,  pp.  321,  323. 

f  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  131.  J  Ibid.  p.  455. 

i  3Iinutes  G.  A.  1S79,  p.  023. 


DISCIPLINE.  1 1 1 

time  to  time  others  which  are  not  directly  under  the  su- 
pervision of  the  Church,  as  Bible,  tract  and  colonization 
societies,  colleges  and  seminaries,  etc.*  Church  Sessions 
also  may  order  whatever  collections  they  may  deem  proper 
to  be  taken  in  churches  under  their  care.  This  is  implied 
in  the  powers  granted  to  Sessions  in  "Form  of  Govern- 
ment" (ch.  ix.,  sect,  vi.)  and  in  all  the  recommendations 
of  the  Assembly  to  the  Sessions  in  regard  to  collections.! 

What  is  discipline  ? 

"  Discipline  is  the  exercise  of  that  authority  and  the 
application  of  that  system  of  laws  which  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  has  appointed  in  his  Church."  |  The  Southern 
Presbyterian  Church  says  that  the  "  term  has  two  senses, 
the  one  referring  to  the  whole  government,  instruction, 
training,  guardianship  and  control  which  the  Church 
maintains  over  its  members,  its  officers  and  its  courts, 
and  the  other  a  restricted  and  technical  sense,  signifying 
judicial  prosecution."  § 

Wlio  are  subjects  of  cliurch  discipline  ? 

All  communicants  are  subjects  of  discipline.  "All 
baptized  persons  are  members  of  the  church,  are  under 
its  care  and  subject  to  its  government  and  discipline ;  and 
when  they  arrive  at  the  years  of  discretion  they  are  bound 
to  perform  all  the  duties  of  church  members."  ||  In 
1878  "the  Assembly  solemnly  reminded  the  churches 
in  our  connection  that  church  discipline,  in  the  scriptural 

*  Assembly's  Digest,  p.  413,  826;  Records  of  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
p.  248  ;  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  373.  f  See  p.  64. 

X  Book  of  Discipline,  ch.  i.,  sect.  i.     See  p.  155. 

§  Book  of  Church  Order,  Part  II.,  ch.  i.,  sect.  i. 

II  Book  of  Discipline,  ch.  i.,  sects,  iii.  and  vi.  This  latter  section  was 
regarded  in  1809  by  the  Assembly  as  "specifying  various  and  import- 
ant particulars  in  which  tliat  inspection  and  government  should  be 
exercised." — Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  671. 


112     OF    ORDIXAXCES    IN    A    PARTICULAR    CHURCH. 

sense,  includes  not  only  tlie  reformation  of  offenders  and 
the  removal  of  scandals,  but  also  the  prevention  of  of- 
fences by  the  proper  instruction  and  training  of  the  chil- 
dren of  the  Church  in  knowledge  and  godliness;  and  that 
to  this  end  it  is  the  duty  of  the  Pastor  and  Sessions  to  take 
authoritative  supervision  of  the  instruction  of  youth,  so  far 
as  to  see  to  it  that  the  baptized  children  of  the  Church  are 
properly  instructed  in  the  family  and  Sabbath-school."  * 
The  question,  however,  has  often  been  asked,  How  far 
and  in  what  sense  are  those  persons  who  were  baptized 
in  infancy,  but  are  non-communicants,  subject  to  church 
discipline?  In  1799  the  public  standards  were  consid- 
ered to  contain  a  sufficient  answer.  It  has  several  times 
been  referred  to  the  serious  consideration  of  Ministers 
and  Presbyteries,  and  to  learned  committees,  whose  reports 
have  been  indefinitely  postponed.  No  authoritative  an- 
swer has  been  given.  The  theory  of  many  is  that  these 
persons  are  subject  to  church  discipline  in  the  same  sense 
that  communicants  are.f  This  is  denied  by  others.  The 
usage  is,  that  the  baptized  non-communicants  are  sub- 
jects of  the  discipline  (teaching)  of  the  Church,  as  is  de- 
scribed in  the  "Directory  for  Worship  "  (ch.  ix,,  sect,  i.), 
but  are  not  liable  to  judicial  prosecution.  This  is  dis- 
tinctly stated  by  the  Southern  Church :  "  In  the  one 
sense  (inspection,  training,  guardianship  and  control)  all 
baptized  persons,  being  members  of  the  Church,  are  sub- 
ject to  its  discipline  and  entitled  to  the  benefits  thereof; 
but  in  the  other  (judicial  prosecution)  it  refers  only  to  those 
who  have  made  a  profession  of  their  faith  in  Christ."  J 
The  second  chapter  of  their  "  Book  of  Church  Order"  is 
devoted  to  "The  Discipline  of  Non-communicating  Mem- 

*  Minnies  G.  A.  187S,  pp.  25,  26.  f  See  p.  132. 

X  Book  of  Church  Order,  Part  II.,  ch.  i.,  sect.  ii. 


DISCIPLINE.  113 

bers,"  In  which  is  described  the  oversight  they  should 
receive.  "If  they  exhibit  a  wayward  disposition  and 
associate  themselves  with  the  profane,  the  Church  should 
still  cherish  them  in  faith,  and  ought  to  use  all  such 
means  as  the  word  of  God  warrants  and  the  Cln-istian 
prudence  of  church  officers  shall  dictate,  for  reclaiming 
them  and  bringing  them  to  appreciate  tlieir  covenant 
privileges  and  to  discharge  their  covenant  obligations." 
Those  "  who  submit  with  meekness  and  gratitude  to  the 
government  and  instruction  of  the  Church  are  entitled 
to  special  attention." 

To  what  judicatories  are  persons  primarily  responsible  ? 

Baptized  members  and  communicants  are  primarily 
responsible  to  the  Session  of  the  church  to  which  they 
belong.*  A  dismissed  member  committing  an  offence 
before  presenting  his  certificate  is  under  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  church  dismissing  him,  but  if  his  oflenee  becomes 
known  after  he  unites  with  another  church,  that  church 
shall  try  him.f  Members  under  censure  or  sentence  re- 
main under  the  care  of  the  Session  which  tried  them.| 
Rulino;  Elders  and  Deacons  are  communicants,  and  are 
therefore  subject  to  the  Session.  Yet  under  certain  cir- 
cumstances an  Elder  may  be  tried  by  the  Presbytery.§ 
Candidates  and  Licentiates,  though  under  the  care  of 
the  Presbytery  as  to  their  studies,  are  yet  members  of  a 
particular  church,  and  are  therefore  responsible  to  the 
Session  for  their  Christian  character  and  conduct. || 

All  Ministers  are  primarily  responsible  to  the  Presby- 
t<iries  to  which  they  belong.^l 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  127.     See  p.  130, 
f  Book  of  Discipline,  cli.  x.,  sects,  i.  and  iii. 

%  Directory  for  Worship,  cli.  x.,  sect.  iv. ;  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  128. 
§  See  p.  58.  ||  See  p.  130.  H  See  p.  204. 

10*  H 


114  OF    CHURCH    GOVERNMENT,    ETC. 

Who  may  pronounce  the  benediction  ? 

"  The  benediction  is  an  authoritative  blessing^  of  the 
people  of  God  in  the  name  of  Christ.  It  partakes  part- 
ly of  the  nature  of  a  prayer,  and  partly  of  the  declara- 
tion of  the  will  and  purpose  of  God.  .  .  .  When  the  form 
is  used  by  Licentiates  or  others,  its  nature  is  changed, 
and  it  assumes  the  character  of  a  prayer  merely.  It  is 
doubted  by  some  whether  the  form  should  ever  be  used 
by  Licentiates.  Our  Church  has  not,  however,  given 
any  deliverance  on  the  subject."  Such  is  a  note  in  the 
"Assembly's  Digest,"  p.  108.  It  is  evidently  a  minis- 
terial act,  and  is  so  regarded  in  all  denominations.  Li- 
centiates are  not  Ministers.*  In  the  "  Form  of  Govern- 
ment "  it  is  frequently  referred  to,  but  only  as  pronounced 
by  Ministers.f 


CHAPTER  VIII, 


OF    CHURCH    GOVERNMENT,    AND   THE    SEVERAL   KINDS 
OF   JUDICATORIES. 

I.  Is  a  definite  form  of  government  necessary  ? 

"  It  is  absolutely  necessary  that  the  government  of  the 
Church  be  exercised  under  some  certain  and  definite 
form."  This  is  evidently  as  necessary  in  the  Church 
as  in  the  State.  If  laws  are  to  be  obeyed  and  executed, 
they  must  be  definite  and  known.  No  individual,  much 
less  a  body  of  men,  can  be  governed  by  general  and 
changing  opinions  or  principles.     God  has  given,  there- 

*  See  p.  325. 

f  Form  of  Government,  di.  xii.,  sect.  viii. ;  cli.  xv.,  sect.  xiv. ;  Di- 
rectory for  Worship,  cli.  vi.,  sect.  V. ;  ch.  viii.,  sepf.  v. ;  eh.  x.,  sect.  viii. ; 
The  General  Mules  for  Jiuiicatories,  xliii. 


PRESBYTERIANISM   SCRIPTURAL.  115 

fore,  a  definite  law,  forms  of  worship  and  government.* 
What  God  has  appointed  cannot  be  unnecessary.  Those 
societies  or  churches  which  have  no  definite  form  of  gov- 
ernment are  in  frequent  confusion  and  trouble  (Ezek. 
43  :  11,  12;  2  Tim.  1  :  13;  Gal.  6  :  16  ;  Phil.  3  :  lQ).f 

Where  should  we  look  for  a  form  of  cjnirch  govem- 
ment? 

We  should  look  to  expediency,  to  the  nature  of  the 
Church  as  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  to  the  Scriptures- 
especial  ly  of  the  New  Testament — and  to  the  practice 
of  the  primitive  Church  and  of  those  churches  which 
were  not  corrupted.  "  We  hold  it  to  be  expedient,  and 
agreeable  to  Scripture  and  the  practice  of  the  primitive 
Christians,  that  the  Church  be  governed  by  congregational, 
presbyterial  and  synodical  assemblies.'' 

What  form  of  church  government  is  thus  taught  ? 

Expediency,  the  nature  of  the  Church,  the  Scriptures 
and  the  practice  of  the  early  Church,  we  hold,  unite  in 
teaching  the  Presbyterian  form  of  church  government ; 
that  is,  that  the  Church  should  be  governed  by  courts 
composed  of  Ministers,  all  of  the  same  order,  and  of 
Elders,  representing  the  people,  chosen  by  them,  ordained 
to  their  office  and  having  an  equal  voice  in  all  questions 
with  the  Ministers ;  and  that  these  courts  should  be  con- 
gregational, presbyterial  and  synodical  assemblies,  the 
smaller  being  subject  to  the  larger,  and  all  to  that  body 
which  represents  the  whole  Church  (Matt.  18  :  15-20; 
Acts  15  :  2-28;  1  Cor.  5  :  4;  1  Tim.  4  :  14).t 

*  See  the  ten  coramandraents,  the  ceremonial  law  and  the  govern- 
ment under  Elders  in  the  Old  Dispensation,  and  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment the  definite  qualiiications  and  duties  of  church  officers  and 
courts,  and  the  laws  to  be  administered  and  the  penalties  to  be  in- 
flicted, t  See  p.  30.  J  What  is  Presbyter ianism  f  pp.  8-76. 


116  OF    CHURCH    GOVERNMENT,    ETC. 

Is  this  form  of  government  essential  to  tlie  being  of  a 
Chnrcli? 

No.  "  The  Church  consists  of  all  those  persons  in 
every  nation,  together  with  their  children,  who  make 
profession  of  the  holy  religion  of  Christ  and  of  sub- 
mission to  his  laws."  Their  faith,  confession  and  sub- 
mission may  all  be  imperfect,  as  in  every  case  they  are, 
yet  they  are  members  of  the  Church.  So  the  outward 
organization  may  be  very  faulty,  a  misinterpretation  of 
the  divine  plan  or  a  human  invention ;  it  is  still  a  visible 
Church.  Its  imperfect  organization  exposes  it  to  dan- 
gers and  damage.  Faith  in  Christ  and  submission  to 
him  are  the  only  essential  characteristics  of  a  Christian 
and  of  a  true  Church.*  Therefore,  "  in  full  consistency 
with  this  belief,  we  embrace,  in  the  spirit  of  charity,  those 
Christians  who  differ  from  us  in  opinion  and  practice  on 
these  subjects." 

How  should  other  denominations  be  regarded  ? 

All  churches  "  making  profession  of  the  holy  religion 
of  Christ  and  of  submission  to  his  laws  "  should  be  "em- 
braced in  the  spirit  of  charity."  Their  creeds,  laws, 
worship,  sacraments  and  discipline  should  be  respected, 
as  far  as  they  may  be  consistent  with  tlic  word  of  God.f 
With  them  we  should  maintain  individual  and  ecclesi- 
astical correspondence  and  co-operation.|   App.,  p.  521. 

Those  bodies  which  deny  the  holy  religion  of  Christ, 
as  the  "Unitarian,"  cannot  be  recognized  as  churches.§ 
Other  heretical  denominations,  denying  essential  doctrines, 
for  the  same  reason  cannot  be  regarded  as  parts  of  the 

*  Form  of  Government,  ch.  ii.,  sect.  ii. ;  Church  Polity,  p.  44. 
f  Assembly's  Digest,  p.  124 ;  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  299. 
%  Form  of  Government,  cli.  xii.,  sect.  v. 
§  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  Go9. 


CHURCH   AND   STATE.  117 

Church.  As  to  the  so-called  Church  of  Rome,  see  p. 
84.  A  schismatical  body  of  Ministers  and  communi- 
cants cannot  be  regarded  as  deriving  authority  from  the 
Church  from  which  they  withdrew,  but  are  to  be  re- 
garded in  the  same  light  as  other  denominations  not 
connected  with  our  body.* 

n.  Should  churcli  courts  possess  civil  power  ? 

"These  assemblies  ought  not  to  possess  any  civil  jurisdio- 
tion,  nor  to  inflict  any  civil  penalties.  Their  power  is  wholly 
moral  or  spiritual,  and  that  only  ministerial  and  declara- 
tive." The  State  cannot  make  laws  for  the  Church,  nor 
determine  their  application.  Neither  can  the  Church 
call  upon  the  State  to  execute  her  laws  or  to  inflict 
civil  penalties  (Luke  12  :  13,  14;  John  18  :  36 ;  Acts 
15  :  l-32).t 

The  Southern  Church  says :  "  The  sole  functions  of 
the  Church  as  a  kingdom  and  government,  distinct  from 
the  civil  commonwealth,  are  to  proclaim,  to  administer 
and  to  enforce  the  law  of  Christ  revealed  in  the  Scrip- 
tures." ^ 

What  is  meant  by  the  "power  is  wholly  moral  and 
spiritual"? 

"  The  Church  has  no  temporal  authority,  and  its  courts 
are  not  to  intermeddle  with  civil  aifairs  which  concern 
the  commonwealth,  unless  by  way  of  humble  petition  in 
cases  extraordinary,  or  by  way  of  advice  for  satisfaction 
of  conscience  if  they  be  thereunto  required  by  the  civil 
magistrate."  §     The  Church  is  a  spiritual  kingdom,  and 

*  Assembly's  Digest,  p.  646. 

t  Authorized  Standards  of  the  Free  Cliurch  of  Scotland,  pp.  339-375 ; 
Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  121,  122,  276;  Confession  of  Faith,  ch.  xxiii.. 
Beet.  iii. ;  Minutes  G.  A.  1874,  pp.  27-30.     See  pp.  18  and  23. 

X  Book  of  Church  Order,  ch.  ii.,  sect,  iii.,  sub-sect.  iii. 

2  Confession  of  Faith,  ch.  xxxi.,  sect.  iv. 


118  OF    CHURCH    GOVERNMENT,    ETC. 

not  of  lliis  world  (John  18  :  36),  and  therefore  its  author- 
ity is  moral  and  spiritual,  and  has  to  do  with  our  relatior.' 
to  God  and  his  laws. 

What  is  meant  by  the  power  being  "  ministerial  and  de- 
clarative "  ? 

The  Church  has  no  inherent  or  sovereign  power. 
Christ  is  the  sole  and  absolute  Head  of  the  Church 
— the  Lawgiver,  whose  laws  must  be  administered  by 
the  courts  of  the  Church  as  his  ministers,  in  his  name 
and  according  to  his  will.  They  can  only  declare  his 
law  and  its  application  (Acts  15  :  1-32).* 

What  offences  can  they  examine  ? 

"Anything  in  the  principles  or  practice  of  a  church 
member  which  is  contrary  to  the  word  of  God,  or  which, 
if  it  be  not  in  its  own  nature  sinful,  may  tempt  others  to 
sin,  or  mar  their  spiritual  edification." f 

What  power  do  church  courts  have  ? 

'^Tiiey  possess  the  right  of  requir^ing  obedience  to  the  laws 
of  Christ,  and  of  excluding  the  disobedient  and  disorderly 
from  the  'privileges  of  the  Church.  To  give  effi,ciency,  how- 
ever, to  this  necessary  and  scriptui'ol  authority,  they  possess 
the  powers  requisite  for  obtaining  evidence  and  inflicting 
censure.  Tliey  can  call  before  them  any  offender  against 
the  order  and  government  of  the  Church;  they  can  require 
members  of  their  own  society  to  appear  and  give  testimony 
in  the  cause."  This  power  is  alike  over  individuals  and 
church  courts.  In  1877  the  Assembly  declared  that 
"the  pro])cr  remedy  for  the  Presbytery  to  apply  to 
that  Session "  (which  had  failed  to  discipline  a  mem- 
ber when  directed  to  do  so),  "if  they  continue  to  dis- 

*  Book  of  Dmipline,  cli.  i. ;  Form  of  Government,  ch.  i.,  sect.  vii. 
See  p.  27. 

t  Boole  of  Discipline,  ell.  i.,  sect.  iii. ;  Shorter  Catcehism,  Qq.  46-81. 


PENALTIES. 


119 


obey  the  instructions  of  the  Presbytery,  is  to  put  the 
Session  under  discipline  for  contumacy."* 
Wliat  penalties  can  churcli  courts  inflict  ? 
"But  the  highest  punishnmit  to  which  their  authority  ex- 
tench  is  to  exclude  the  contumacious  and  impenitent  from 
the  congregation  of  believers:'     They  may  administer  ad- 
monition, rebuke,  deposition  from  office,  suspension  from 
church  privileges  and  excommunication,  f     The  penalty 
must  be  determined  by  the  offence  and  the  circumstances 
under  which  it  was  committed.    Excommunication  is  the 
most  severe  penalty,  and  is  inflicted  only  when  all  other 
methods  have  failed  to  reclaim  the  offender.     By  it  he  is 
cut  off  from  the  visible  Church  "as  a  heathen  man  and  a 
publican"  (Matt.  18  :  15-20;  1  Cor.  5  :  4,  5).  t 
How  are  penalties  to  be  inflicted  ? 

"The  sentence  shall  be  published  only  in  the  church 
or  churches  which  have  been  offended.  Or,  if  the  offence 
be  of  small  importance,  and  such  as  it  shall  appear  most 
for  edification  not  to  publish,  the  sentence  may  pass  only 
in  the  judicatory."  §  The  sentence  "can  derive  no  force 
whatever  but  from  its  own  justice,  the  approbation  of  an 
impartial  public  and  the  countenance  and  blessing  of  the 
great  Head  of  the  Church  universal,"  "since  ecclesiastical 
discipline  must  be  purely  moral  or  spiritual  in  its  object, 
and  not  attended  with  any  civil  effects."  |1  In  the  case 
of  a  Minister  the  sentence  of  suspension,  deposition  or 
excommunication  is  generally  published  in  the  congrega- 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  1877,  p.  531. 

f  Book  of  Discipline,  ch.  iv.,  sects,  xvii.  and  xx. ;  cli.  v.,  sects,  xi.,  xu., 
xiv. ;  Form  of  Government,  ch.  ix.,  sect.  vi. 

X  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  496. 

?  Book  of  Discipline,  ch.  iv.,  sect.  xix.  For  the  form  see  Directory 
for  Worship,  ch.  x. 

II  Form  of  Government,  ch.  i.,  sect.  viii.     See  p.  27. 


120  OF   CHURCH   GOVERNMENT,   ETC. 

tion  and  Presbyter}^,  and  in  some  way  (as  by  the  public 
papers)  to  the  whole  Church  and  the  public.  If  he  con- 
fesses his  crime,  "  however  penitent  he  may  apj^ear  to  the 
satisfaction  of  all,  the  Presbytery  must  without  delay  sus- 
pend him  from  the  exercise  of  his  office  or  depose  him 
from  the  ministry;  and,  if  the  way  be  clear  for  the  pur- 
pose, appoint  him  a  due  time  to  confess  publicly  before 
the  congregation  oifended  and  to  profess  his  penitence."  * 
How  can  these  penalties  be  removed  ? 

(1)  By  the  court  which  inflicted  the  penalty,  on  re- 
ceiving satisfactory  evidence  of  the  repentance  of  the 
offender.f  In  the  case  of  a  Minister  he  "  shall  not  be 
restored,  even  on  the  deepest  sorrow  for  his  sin,  until 
after  some  time  of  eminent  and  exemplary,  humble  and 
edifying  conversation,  to  heal  the  wound  made  by  his 
scandal.  And  he  ought  in  no  case  to  be  restored,  until 
it  shall  appear,  that  the  sentiments  of  the  religious 
public  are  strongly  in  his  favor  and  demand  his  resto- 
ration." X 

(2)  By  a  superior  court  reversing  the  decision  when 
the  case  has  been  orderly  brought  before  it  on  review  or 
by  appeal  or  complaint.  § 

What  other  powers  have  church  courts  ? 

They  have  power  to  administer  oaths  to  witnesses,  to 
interpret  laws,  to  review  the  records  and  decisions  of  the 
lower  courts;  to  receive  members;  "to  concert  the  best 
measures  for  promoting  the  spiritual  interests  of  the  con- 
gregation; to  appoint  delegates  to  the  higher  judicatories 
of  the  Church ;"  to  examine  and  license  and  ordain  Can- 

*  Book  of  Discipline,  ch.  v.,  sect.  x. 

•f  Ibid.,  ch.  iv.,  sect.  xvii.  For  the  form  see  Directory  for  Womhip, 
ch.  X.,  sect.  viii. 

X  Book  of  Discipline,  ch.  v.,  sect.  xvi.  §  Ibid.,  ch.  vii. 


POWER   OF   CHURCH   COURTS.  121 

didates  for  the  ministry ;  to  install  and  dismiss  Pastors; 
to  resolve  questions  of  doctrine  or  discipline;  to  condemn 
erroneous  opinions ;  to  visit  churches,  redress  evils,  unite 
or  divide  congregations  or  form  new  ones;  "to  order 
whatever  pertains  to  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  churches 
under  their  care ;  to  erect,  unite  or  divide  Presbyteries ;" 
to  see  that  Presbyteries  observe  the  constitution  of  the 
Church;  "to  propose  such  measures  as  may  be  of  common 
advantage  to  the  whole  Church ;"  to  decide  all  controver- 
sies respecting  doctrine  or  discipline  ;  to  bear  testimony 
against  error  and  immorality ;  to  erect  new  Synods ;  to 
superintend  the  concerns  of  the  whole  Church,  corre- 
spond with  foreign  churches ;  to  suppress  schismatical 
disputations ;  to  recommend  "  reformation  of  manners 
and  the  promotion  of  charity,  truth  and  holiness  through 
all  the  churches  under  our  care."  * 

For  what  object  is  churcli  authority  to  be  used  ? 

To  secure  proper  instruction  to  the  people,  to  uphold 
sound  doctrine,  maintain  peace,  to  remove  oifences,  to 
vindicate  the  honor  of  Christ,  the  promotion  of  the  pur- 
ity and  general  edification  of  the  Church  and  to  reclaim 
oifenders  (1  Cor.  5:4;  14  :  26 ;  Tit.  1  :  9 ;  1  Thess.  5  : 
12,  13;  Heb.  13  :  17).t 

In  what  spirit  is  this  authority  to  be  exercised  ? 

In  the  spirit  of  Jesus  Christ,  with  humility,  meek- 
ness, long-suifering,  gentleness,  firmness,  and  without 
fear  or  partiality  (Gal.  6  :  1 ;  2  Cor.  10  :  1,  8-10;  1 
Tim.  5:1;  Tit.  1  :  13 ;  James  2  :  4,  9 ;  3  :  19;  2  Tim. 
4  :  2).  "  The  exercise  of  discipline  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  edify  the  Church  requires  not  only  much  of  the  spirit 
of  piety,  but  also  much  prudence  and  discretion."    "  Tak- 

*  Form  of  Government,  ch.  ix.,  sect.  vi. ;  ch.  x.,  sect.  viii. ;  ch.  xi., 
sect.  iv. ;  ch.  xii.,  sect.  v.  f  Book  of  Discipline,  ch.  i.,  sect.  ii. 

11 


]22  OF    CHURCH    GOVERNMENT,    ETC. 

ing  up  charges  on  this  ground  "  (on  rumor  or  common 
fame)  "  requires  great  caution  and  the  exercise  of  much 
Christian  prudence."  * 

How  many  church  courts  are  there  ? 

"  llie  Church  (should)  be  governed  by  congregational, 
jjresbyterial  and  synodical  assemblies." 

The  congregational  assembly  is  called  the  church  Ses- 
sion, and  "consists  of  the  Pastor  or  Pastors  and  Ruling 
Elders  of  a  particular  congregation."  f 

"  The  Presbytery  consists  of  all  the  Ministers,  in  num- 
ber not  less  than  five,  and  one  Ruling  Elder  from  each 
congregation,  within  a  certain  district."  |  Until  1716  this 
was  the  highest  church  judicatory  in  this  country,  and 
that  Presbytery  is  now  often  referred  to  as  the  General 
Presbytery.  § 

"  The  Synod  is  a  convention  of  the  Bishops  and  Elders 
within  a  larger  district,  including  at  least  three  Presby- 
teries." ||  From  1716  to  1788  the  Synod  was  the  highest 
judicatory. § 

"The  General  Assembly  is  the  highest  judicatory  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church.  It  shall  represent  in  one  body 
all  the  particular  churches  of  this  denomination."  "  It 
shall  consist  of  an  equal  delegation  of  Bishops  and  Elders 
from  each  Presbytery."  ^ 

What  courts  have  the  right  to  testify  against  erroneous 
and  injurious  publications  ? 

In  the  opinion  of  the  General  Assembly  any  of  our  church 
courts  have  the  right  and  responsibility  to  bear  witness 
against  any  printed  publication  which  is  circulated  within 

*  Book  of  DiRcipline,  ch.  i.,  sect.  v. ;  cli.  iii.,  sect.  v. 
f  Form  of  Gov&'nment,  ch.  ix.,  sect.  i.  %  Ibid.,  ch.  x.,  sect.  ii. 

§  See  p.  16.  II  Form  of  Government,  ch.  xi.,  sect.  i. 

1[  Ibid.,  ch.  xii.,  sects,  i.  and  ii.     See  p.  17. 


THE    CHURCH    SESSION.  123 

their  bounds,  which  in  its  judgment  inculcates  injurious 
opinions,  whether  the  author  be  dead  or  living,  or  whether 
in  our  denomination  or  not.  Any  church  court  may  warn 
its  Church  against  any  erroneous  book,  even  when  it  is  not 
thousj;ht  necessarv  to  arraig-n  the  author  as  a  heretic.  This 
right  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  precious  and  powerful 
means  of  bearing  testimony  and  of  guarding  the  Churcli 
from  error.* 


CHAPTER    IX. 

OF   THE    CHURCH    SESSION. 


I.  Of  whom  does  the  church  Session  consist  ? 

"27ie  church  Session  consists  of  the  Pastor  or  Pastors, 
and  Ruling  Elders  of  a  particular  congregation." 

Can  a  special  Session  be  appointed  ? 

Ruling  Elders  have  jurisdiction  only  over  those 
whom  they  represent.f  The  Presbytery  cannot  therefore 
authorize  them  to  serve  in  other  churches.  The  appoint- 
ment by  Presbytery  of  a  "special  Session"  that  is  "com- 
posed of  Elders  belonging  to  different  congregations," 
even  to  try  a  case  of  discipline,  "is  entirely  unconstitu- 
tional." So  the  Assembly  decided  in  1823  and  1824. 
The  O.  S.  Assembly  in  1860  refused  "to  make  provis- 
ion for  the  calling  of  special  Sessions  of  Ruling  Elders 
from  neighboring  churches  to  obviate  delays  in  cases  of 
discipline  for  want  of  quorums  of  church  Sessions."  J 
In  the  decision  of  1824  it  is  stated  that  "no  Presby- 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  122.  f  Ibid.,  p.  124.    See  p.  57. 

t  Ibid.,  pp.  123,  124. 


124  OF    THE    CHURCH    SESSION. 

tery  has  authority,  according  to  the  constitution  of  our 
Church,  to  delegate  to  a  committee  power  to  perform 
such  acts  as  those" — to  sit  in  judgment  upon  a  member 
of  the  church  and  an  Elder,  and  condemn  and  suspend 
him.* 

What  can  be  done  if  the  Session  cannot  act  ? 

If  the  church  be  without  a  Pastor,  the  Presbytery  should 
appoint  a  Moderator,  or  the  Session  may  invite  some 
Minister  of  the  same  Presbytery  to  moderate  the  Session 
on  a  particular  occasion ;  or,  if  that  be  impracticable,  one 
of  the  Elders  may  preside. f 

If  the  Session  be  small,  and  the  only  Elder  or  Elders 
be  accused,  the  Presbytery  is  the  competent  court  to  try 
the  oifender,  and  it  is  its  duty  to  do  so.  J 

If  the  Session  be  small,  or  its  members  be  more  or  less 
interested  in  the  case  of  discipline,  or  "  if  the  case  be  new, 
important  or  difficult,  of  peculiar  delicacy,  the  decision 
of  which  may  establish  principles  or  precedents  of  ex- 
tensive influence  on  which  the  sentiments  of  the  inferior 
judicatory  are  greatly  divided,  or  on  which  for  any  rea- 
son it  is  highly  desirable  that  a  larger  body  should  first 
decide,"  the  Session  may  refer  the  case  to  the  Presbytery 
for  advice  or  for  ultimate  trial  and  decision,  § 

11.  What  constitutes  a  quorum  of  Session  ? 

"0/*  this  judicatory,  two  Elders,  if  there  be  as  many  in 
the  congregation,  with  the  Pastor,  shall  be  necessary  to  con- 
stitute a  quorum."  The  O.  S.  Assembly  in  1852  refused 
to  propose  a  change  in  the  constitution  authorizing  a 
Pastor  and  one  Elder  to  perform  sessional  acts,  Avhen 
the  other  Elder  shall,  in  the  judgment  of  Presbytery,  be 

*  See  pp.  190,  218.  f  See  pp.  125-129. 

X  Presbyterian  Di;/est,  p.  118.     See  p.  58. 

g  JBoolc  of  Discipline,  ch.  vii.,  sect,  ii.,  sub-sect.  ii. 


QUORUM.  125 

from  any  cause  incompetent  to  act  in  the  case.  If  there 
be  but  one  Elder,  he  with  the  Pastor  or  the  Moderator 
appointed  by  Presbytery,  form  the  Session  capable  of 
transacting  business  even  of  a  judicial  character.  The 
O.  S.  Assembly  in  1869  decided  that  if  one  of  the  two 
Elders  refuse  to  act,  and  has  left  the  church,  the  other 
is  entitled  to  be  regarded  as  the  only  Elder,  and  to  serve 
as  such.* 

Is  a  quorum  complete  without  a  Miuister  ? 

It  would  seem  from  this  section  that  a  Minister  was 
necessary.  But  by  sect,  iv.,  in  certain  cases  in  which 
'^  it  is  impracticable  without  great  inconvenience  to  pro- 
cure the  attendance  of  such  a  Moderator"  (a  Minister), 
"the  Session  may  proceed  without  it,"  one  of  the  Elders 
presiding.  The  N.  S.  Assembly  in  1869  decided  that 
"the  Session,  under  its  responsibility  to  Presbytery,  is 
the  judge  of  the  impracticability  of  procuring  a  Mode- 
rator." f  If  the  church  has  a  Pastor,  it  is  evident 
from  this  section  that  he  must  be  present.  The  Elders 
cannot  hold  a  meeting  of  Session  without  him,  except 
"in  the  case  of  the  sickness  or  absence  of  the  Pastor," 
when  another  Minister  of  the  same  Presbytery  must 
preside.  % 

May  less  than  a  quorum  transact  business  ? 

"  The  law  of  a  quorum  is  not  a  mere  rule  of  proce- 
dure, a  provision  of  order,  but  a  matter  respecting  the 
very  being  of  the  judicatory.  Any  number  of  members 
less  than  a  constituted  quorum  do  not  make  a  judicatory, 
and  ai'e  not  competent  to  any  organic  act."  So  said  the 
N.  S.  Assembly  in  1861.*  The  O.  S.  Assembly  and 
that  of  the  reunited  Church  have  always  acted  in  accord- 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  125.  f  Ibid.,  p.  127. 

X  See  p.  126. 
11  * 


126  OF    THE    CHURCH   SESSION. 

ance  with  the  above,  refusing  to  recognize  any  act  deter- 
mined by  less  than  a  quorum  of  the  court,  until  it  be 
reaffirmed  or  authorized  by  some  competent  body.  In 
cases  of  real  necessity  less  than  a  quorum  may  meet,  con- 
sult and  determine  even  important  business  informally. 
The  action  may  be  reported  at  the  next  meeting  of  the 
Session,  and  becomes  valid  only  when  adopted  by  the  Ses- 
sion as  its  own  action.  Such  informal  meetings  of  the 
members  of  Session  are  not  infrequent,  and  are  some- 
times very  important,  but  they  are  not  meetings  of  Ses- 
sion, and  are  incapable  of  any  organic  act. 

III.  Who  is  the  Moderator  of  Session? 

"  The  Pastor  of  the  congregation  shall  always  he  the 
Moderator  of  the  Session."  He  is  Moderator  by  virtue 
of  his  office  and  the  act  of  Presbytery  which  installed 
him.  He  is  not  accountable  to  the  church  nor  to  the 
Session  for  his  conduct  or  decisions  as  Moderator.  No 
appeal  can  be  taken,  even  on  points  of  order,  to  the 
Session  or  to  the  congregation.  He  is  responsible 
only  to  the  Presbytery,  by  which  alone  he  can  be  over- 
ruled, tried  and  judged.*  "An  appeal  to  the  church 
Session  from  the  Moderator,  if  he  be  a  Minister,  would 
not  be  in  order.  In  this  case  exceptions  to  his  decision 
must  be  filed  to  go  before  the  Presbytery."! 

Is  there  any  exception  ? 

"  Except  lohcn,  for  prudential  reasons,  it  may  appear 
advisable  that  some  other  Minister  shoidd  he  invited  to  pre- 
side; in  which  case  the  Pastor  may,  with  the  concurrence 
of  the  Session,  invite  some  other  Minister  as  they  may  see 
meet,  belonging  to  the  same  Presbytery,  to  preside  in  that 
case.     The  same  expedient  may  be  adopted  in  case  of  the 

*  Book  of  Discipline,  cli.  v.,  sect,  ik 

f  Manual  of  Pres^hyterian  Law  and  Uaac/e,  p.  167. 


MODERATOR.  127 

mc7c7}ess  or  absence  of  the  Pastor"  The  meaning  of  this 
is  evidently  that  Ministers  of  other  Presbyteries  cannot 
be  invited  to  moderate  the  Session.  "VVe  have  no  bind- 
ing decision  to  the  contrary.  But  in  1843  the  O.  S.  As- 
sembly determined  that  it  is  "  orderly  that  a  member  of 
one  Presbytery  moderate  a  church  Session  of  another 
Presbytery."  In  the  next  year,  however,  the  following 
resolution  was  passed  :  "  That  the  last  General  Assembly, 
in  deciding  that  a  Session  may  invite  a  Minister  who  is 
a  member  of  another  Presbytery  to  sit  as  their  Modera- 
tor, did  not  include  any  of  those  cases  in  which  it  is  re- 
quired either  in  express  terms  or  by  plain  implication 
{'  Form  of  Government,'  ch.  iv.,  sects,  iii.  and  iv.)  that 
the  Moderator  shall  be  of  the  same  Presbytery  as  the 
congregation ;  but  (we)  are  of  opinion  that  in  eases  of  a 
difficult  kind,  for  which  no  provision  is  made,  a  member 
of  another  Presbytery  may  be  invited  to  act  as  Modera- 
tor if  it  be  found  expedient."  *  In  a  special  case — viz. 
"in  the  absence  of  the  Pastor  and  great  inconvenience 
in  procuring  a  Moderator,  having  no  ordained  Minis- 
ter of  the  same  Presbytery  residing  within  forty  miles  " 
— the  N.  S.  Assembly  decided  in  1869  that  "there 
is  no  provision  for  inviting  any  Minister  not  be- 
longing to  the  same  Presbytery  to  preside  over  a 
meeting  of  Session,  much  less  any  Minister  of  the 
word."  * 

Can  a  Stated  Supply  act  as  Moderator  ? 

A  Stated  Supply,  Missionary,  Candidate,  or  Pas- 
tor elect,  whether  a  Licentiate  or  an  ordained  Min- 
ister, has  no  authority  in  the  particular  church,  and 
therefore  cannot  act  as  Moderator,  unless  he  has  been 
appointed  by  Presbytery  to  preside  over  the  Session,  or 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  126. 


128  OF    THE    CHURCH    SESSION. 

unless  he  has  been  "  invited  by  the  Session  to  preside  on 
a  particular  occasion." *  "A  Stated  Supply  has  not  the 
right,  power  and  prerogative  in  the  church  Session  as  9 

Pastor."  t 

May  a  Pastor  emeritus  preside  over  Session  ? 

The  title  "  Pastor  emeritus  "  is  an  honorable  title,  and, 
though  the  pastoral  relation  is  not  formally  dissolved,  he 
ceases  to  be  the  acting  Pastor,  and  has  no  more  official 
power  in  that  church,  than  an  Elder  has  who  for  similar 
reasons  ceases  to  be  an  acting  Elder.  |  He  therefore  can- 
not claim  a  seat  in  Session.  As  any  other  member  of 
the  Presbytery,  he  may  be  invited  to  preside  on  a  partic- 
ular occasion. 

May  an  assistant  Pastor? 

Unless  installed  as  a  co-Pastor,  he  has  no  seat  in  Ses- 
sion, except  when  invited  to  preside  on  a  particular  occa- 
sion. If  a  co-Pastor,  he  presides  in  turn  by  virtue  of  iiis 
office.  § 

IV.  When  a  church  is  without  a  Pastor,  who  is  the 
Moderator  ? 

"  Tlie  Moderator  of  the  Session  shall  be,  either  the  Min- 
ister appointed  for  tliat  purpose  by  the  Presbytery,  or  one 
invited  by  the  Session  to  preside  on  a  particular  occasion" 
or  one  of  the  Elders,  ^' where  it  is  impracticable  without 
great  inconvenience  to  procure  the  attendance  of  such  a 
Moderator"  (a  JNIinistcr). 

When  is  it  especially  necessary  to  have  a  Minister  ? 

When  the  Session  is  ^^  constituted  for  judicial  business." 

What  is  judicial  business  ? 

Any  act  of  discipline,  but  especially  the  formal  trial 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  402. 

t  Minutes  G.  A.  1877,  p.  549 ;  18S0,  p.  45, 

X  Form  of  Government,  ch.  xiii.,  sect.  vi.  §  See  p.  129. 


MODERATOR.  1 29 

of  an  accused  person.*  "  Whenever  a  judicatory  is  about 
to  sit  in  a  judicial  capacity,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the 
Moderator  solemnly  to  announce  from  the  chair  that  the 
body  is  about  to  pass  to  the  consideration  of  the  business 
assigned  for  trial,  and  to  enjoin  on  the  members  to  recol- 
lect and  regard  their  high  character  as  judges  of  a  court 
of  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  solemn  duty  in  Avhich  they  are 
about  to  act."  f 

Why  is  it  then  especially  necessary  that  a  Minister  should 
preside  ? 

Because  judicial  business  is  the  most  responsible  that 
can  come  before  the  Session,  and  is  the  highest  exercise 
of  its  authority.|  It  is  to  be  presumed  that  the  Minister 
will  have  a  fuller  knowledge  of  the  rules  of  church  order 
and  discipline,  and  be  better  able  to  exercise  the  spirit  of 
piety,  prudence  and  discretion  required  by  the  '•  Book  of 
Discipline,"  ch.  i.,  sect.  v. 

V.  When  there  are  co-Pastors  who  is  the  Modera- 
tor? 

"  In  congregations  where  tliere  are  tivo  or  more  Pastors, 
they  sJiall,  when  present,  alternately  preside  in  the  Session." 
However  they  may  differ  in  age  and  the  length  of  their 
pastorates,  they  are  officially  equal  and  have  like  voice 
and  authority  in  Session.  This  of  course  does  not  for- 
bid the  young  man,  even  when  presiding,  to  pay  special 
respect  and  deference  to  the  opinions  and  wishes  of  his 
aged  and  more  experienced  colleague. 

VI.  With  what  duty  is  the  Session  charged  ? 

"  The  church  Session  is  charged  with  maintaining  the 
spiritual  government  of  the  congregation." 

*  Book  of  Discipline,  ch.  iv. 
f  GenercU  Rules  for  Judicatories,  xl.    See  p.  496. 
X  See  the  above  admonition  ordered  to  be  given. 
I 


130  OF   THE    CHURCH    SESSION. 

Over  whom  does  it  exercise  its  authority  ? 

All  the  members  of  the  church — full  communicants, 
those  who  have  been  suspended  from  church  privileges,* 
and  all  l)aptized  persons.f 

Where  does  original  jurisdiction  over  church  members 
belong  ? 

To  the  Session.  Not  to  the  congregation,  "no  vote 
of  the  congregation  of  a  Presbyterian  church  can  affect 
the  rights  of  a  communing  member  as  such,"  all  such 
power  is  vested  in  the  Session.  |  Nor  to  the  higher  courts. 
In  certain  cases  an  Elder  may  be  tried  directly  by  the 
Presbytery.  §  The  Presbytery  may  require  the  Session  to 
proceed  to  discij)line  a  member.  || 

Are  Candidates  and  Licentiates  members  of  the 
church? 

They  are  members  of  the  particular  church,  and  are, 
as  sucii,  responsible  to  the  Session.  They  are  under  the 
care  of  Presbytery  as  to  their  studies  and  qualifications 
for  the  ministry.  The  Presbytery  may  regulate  these, 
or  arrest  their  preparation,  or  recjdl  their  license.  If 
discipline  is  necessary,  the  Session  must  cite  and  try  them, 
informing  the  jSIoderator  of  Presbytery  when  charges  are 
tabled  against  them,  that  proper  action  may  be  taken  at 
once  in  regard  to  their  license  to  preach.^ 

Is  the  Pastor  to  be  enrolled  as  a  member  of  the 
church  ? 

Neither  the  Pastor  nor  any  Minister  is  to  be  consid- 
ered as  a  member  of  the  church.     He  is  not  under  the 

*  Directory  for  Worship,  ch.  x.,  sect.  iv. ;  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  128. 

f  Book  of  Discipline,  ch.  i.,  sect.  vi.     See  p.  112. 

X  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  127. 

?  See  p.  58.  ||  See  pj).  223,  224. 

T[  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  402.     See  pp.  195,  825. 


OVERSIGHT.  131 

care  of  the  particular  church,  but  is  a  member  of  the 
Presbytery,  under  its  care  and  responsible  to  it.* 

Wliat  is  the  first  power  of  Session  mentioned? 

"  To  inquire  into  the  knowledge  and  Christian  conduct 
of  the  members  of  the  church."  This  includes  the  over- 
sight (1)  of  the  doctrinal  views  and  growth  in  the  know- 
ledge of  the  truth,  (2)  and  of  the  outward  life  (Heb.  13 : 
17;  1  Thess.  5  :  12,  13;  1  Tim.  5  :  17). 

Are  the  Sabbath-schools  and  home  instruction  under  the 
care  of  the  Session  ? 

The  Sabbath-school  is  the  chief  means  for  the  public 
instruction  of  the  young,  and  is  therefore  under  the  di- 
rect control  of  the  Session.  The  teachers,  books,  rules 
and  officers  must  be  subject  to  its  approval.  "  The  Ses- 
sion cannot  delegate  its  responsibility  for  the  religious 
instruction  of  the  children  of  the  Church."  f  The  home 
instruction  is  a  very  important  means  of  grace,  and  the 
Session  are  required  to  see  that  the  children  receive 
proper  training  and  instruction  in  the  family  and  at 
school.f  For  example,  the  O.  S.  Assembly  in  1849  de- 
clares the  placing  of  children  in  Roman  Catholic  schools 
is  a  violation  on  the  part  of  parents  of  covenant  engage- 
ment.! 

What  is  the  second  power  of  Session  ? 

That  of  trial.  "To  call  before  them,  offenders  and  ivit- 
nesses,  being  membea^s  of  their  own  congregation,  and  to 
introduce  other  witnesses  ivhere  it  may  be  necessary  to 
bring  the  process  to  issue,  and  when  they  can  be  pro- 
cured to  attend." 

*  Form  of  Government,  ch.  x.,  sect.  ii. ;  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  133; 
£ook  of  Discipline,  ch.  v.,  sect.  ii. 

f  Manual  of  Presbyterian  Law  and  Usage,  p.  46 ;  Presbyterian  Di- 
gest, pp.  641,  642,  643-645,  671.  t  Ibid.,  p.  673. 


132  OF   THE   CHURCH   SESSION. 

Offenders  cannot  be  tried  by  the  Session  of  another 
church.  What  constitutes  an  offence ;  under  what  cir- 
cumstances it  may  be  brought  before  the  Session ;  how 
the  charges  are  to  be  drawn  up ;  how  they  are  to  be  pre- 
sented ;  and  how  the  trial  is  to  be  conducted,  are  ques- 
tions which  are  answered  in  the  "  Book  of  Discipline," 
chs.  i.,  ii.,  iii.,  iv.  If  the  accused  refuses  to  appear,  he 
must  be  cited  a  second  time,  and  warned  that  if  he  do 
not  appear  at  the  time  appointed,  he  will  be  censured  for 
contumacy,  and  that,  after  assigning  some  one  to  manage 
his  defence,  the  Session  will  proceed  to  take  testimony  in 
his  case.* 

Who  may  be  summoned  as  offenders  ? 

"Members  of  the  congregation  "  against  wdiom  charges 
are  tabled.  (In  regard  to  baptized  members,  see  pp.  Ill, 
112.)  It  should  be  noticed  that  the  declaration  that 
"  all  baptized  persons  are  members  of  the  Church,  are 
under  its  care,  and  subject  to  its  government  and  disci- 
pline," is  found  in  the  "Book  of  Discipline"  (ch.  i.,  sect. 
vi.),  which  treats  only  of  judicial  process — of  offences, 
charges,  trial  and  sentence.  A  dismissed  member, 
committing  an  offence  while  in  transitu,  is  still  under 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  Session  which  dismissed  him. 
If  such  an  offence  becomes  known  after  he  has  united 
with   another   church,   that   church   must   conduct   the 

trial,  t 

Who  may  be  appointed  counsel  for  the  accused  ? 

"  No  professional  counsel  shall  be  permitted  to  appear 
and  plead  in  cases  of  process  in  any  of  our  ecclesiastical 
courts."  The  accused  "  may  request  any  Minister  or 
Elder  belonging  to  the  judicatory  before  which  he  ap- 

*  Book  of  Discipline,  ch.  iv.,  sects,  x.  and  xiii. ;  Presbyterian  Digest, 
pp.  504-510.  t  Book  of  Discipline,  cli.  x. 


OFFENDERS.  1 33 

pears  to  prepare  and  exhibit  his  cause,  as  he  may  judge 
proper."  * 

What  witnesses  may  be  summoned  ? 

The  Session  may  call  before  them  "  wUnosscs,  being 
members  of  their  own  congregation,  and  introduce  other 
witnesses  where  it  may  be  necessary  to  bring  the  pi^ocess  to 
issue,  and  when  they  can  be  procured  to  attend.'^  If  they 
refuse  to  appear,  they  must  be  cited  a  second  time,  and 
dealt  with  as  the  accused  when  he  refuses.f  The  Session 
has  no  authority  over  the  communicants  of  another 
church,  but  "they  can  be  procured  to  attend"  by  re- 
quest made  personally  or  through  the  Session  to  which 
they  are  subject.  Those  witnesses  who  are  not  members 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  may  be  procured  by  re- 
quest. The  testimony  may  sometimes  be  taken  by  a 
commission  in  the  place  where  the  witnesses  reside.  The 
commission  must  consist  of  two  or  three  members  of  the 
Session,  and  be  appointed  for  that  purpose,  with  due  no- 
tice given  to  all  parties.  The  testimony  thus  received 
shall  be  considered  as  if  taken  before  the  judicatory.^ 
Any  member  of  the  Session  may  be  called  upon  to  give 
testimony :  this  does  not  interfere  with  his  remaining  a 
judge  in  the  case.§  The  O.  S.  Assembly  in  1854  de- 
cided that  a  member  of  the  court  could  not  excuse  him- 
self on  the  ground  that  he  had  received  no  citation. 1| 
The  Assembly  of  1878  declared  that  the  prosecution  has 
"  the  right  to  introduce  members  of  the  court  on  the  spot, 
without  a  citation,  to  disprove  and  rebut  certain  testi- 
mony of  the  defence."^     The  O.  S.  Assembly  in  1854 

*  Book  of  Discipline,  ch.  iv.,  sect.  xxi.     See  p.  217. 
t  Book  of  Discipline,  ch.  vi.,  sect.  xvi.  X  l^id.,  sect.  xiii. 

\  Ibid.,  sect.  xv.  ||  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  532. 

If  Minutes  G.  A.  1S78,  p.  118. 
12 


134  OF   THE    CHURCH    SESSION. 

was  asked  in  regard  to  a  Minister  declinins;  to  appear 
when  cited  to  appear  before  the  Session  as  a  witness,  and 
rejilied  by  referring  to  "  Book  of  Discipline,"  ch.  i.,  sect. 
V.  (enjoining  prudence  and  discretion),  ch.  iv.,  sect.  x.  (of 
a  second  citation),  ch.  v.,  sects,  i.,  ii.  (concerning  process 
against  a  minister  before  Presbytery),  ch.  vi.,  sect.  xvi. 
(of  the  sentence  by  Presbytery).* 

May  non-church  members  appear  as  witnesses  ? 

"  Persons  who  are  not  church  members,  even  though 
heathen,  of  good  repute,  may  be  admitted  to  testify. 
Their  credibility  is  to  be  determined  by  the  judica- 
tory." t 

If  charges  be  presented,  must  the  accused  be  tried  ? 

The  Session  must  judge  if  the  charges  presented  are 
(1)  serious  enough  to  be  considered,  (2)  from  accusers 
of  proper  character  and  actuated  by  right  motives,  (3) 
of  the  nature  of  accusations,  (4)  in  due  and  definite 
form,  and  (5)  within  the  time  prescribed.^  When  the 
charges  have  been  received  as  in  order  and  proper  for  the 
cognizance  of  the  Session,  they  cannot  be  ignored  :  tlie 
Session  must  proceed  "to  try  or  formally  dismiss  the 
charges."  §  So  when  one  deems  himself  injured  by  a 
slanderous  publication,  and  tables  charges  against  the 
author,  an  exjjlauation  by  the  accused,  and  an  exhorta- 
tion to  him  to  be  more  careful  in  his  publication,  will 
not  justify  the  Session  to  dismiss  the  charges.  The  Ses- 
sion ought  either  to  entertain  the  charge  or  to  "  adopt  a 
minute  declaring  him  free  from  the  imputations  of  the 

*  Preshylerlan  Digest,  p.  532. 

f  Book  of  Discipline,  ch.  vi.,  sects,  i.,  ii.,  and  iv. ;  Minutes  G.  A 
18S1,  p.  585. 

X  Bonk  of  Discipline,  ch.  i.,  sect.  iv. ;  ch.  ii.,  sect.  iii. ;  ch.  iii.,  sect 
V. ;  ch.  iv.,  sect.  iv. ;  ch.  xi.  ?  Minutes  G.  A.  1S74,  p.  46. 


TRIAL.  135 

published  articles."*  In  1881  the  Assembly,  in  consid- 
ering a  complaint  against  a  court  for  refusing  a  trial,  de- 
clared "  that  upon  the  facts  stated  by  the  Presbytery  as 
the  basis  of  its  action,  the  question  whether  the  investi- 
gation asked  for  should  be  entered  upon  oi-  not  was  one 
to  be  determined  in  the  exercise  of  a  sound  discretion 
on  the  part  of  the  Presbytery."  f 

May  a  court  discontiQiie  an  investigation  which  it  has 
commenced  ? 

Such  a  case  was  presented  to  the  Assembly  in  1881, 
which  replied :  "  The  investigation,  being  entered  upon 
by  the  Presbytery  on  its  own  motion,  was  under  its  con- 
trol, and  could  be  lawfully  discontinued,  with  the  con- 
sent of  the  accused,  if  in  the  judgment  of  the  Presby- 
tery its  further  prosecution  would  be  useless  or  injurious 
to  the  Church. "t 

May  a  communicant  demand  a  trial  ? 

It  sometimes  happens  that  a  rumor  seriously  affecting 
the  Christian  character  of  a  communicant  becomes  widely 
spread,  and  no  one  appears  as  accuser,  and  the  Session 
neglects  to  summon  him,  or  slanderous  statements  may 
be  made  in  open  court.  In  such  cases  the  member  may 
demand  a  trial  for  his  exculpation,  or  he  may  table 
charges  for  slander  against  those  who  have  originated  or 
circulated  the  reports. § 

What  is  the  third  power  of  the  Session  ? 

"2o  receive  members  info  the  church.^'  This  includes 
(1)  the  receiving  persons  from  the  world  on  profession 
of  their  faith  and  by  baptism.  ||     In  1872  the  Assembly 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  1878,  p.  117. 

t  Book  of  Discipline,  ch.  iii.,  sect.  vi. ;  Minutes  G.  A.  1881^  p.  586. 

X  Minutes  G.  A.  1881,  p.  588. 

§  See  p.  134.  ||  Directory  for  Worship,  ch.  ix.,  sect.  iv. 


136  OF  THE   CHUECH   SESSION. 

said  "  that  the  admission  of  persons  to  the  sealing  ordi- 
nances is  confided  by  the  '  Form  of  Government '  really 
and  exclusively  to  the  church  Session."*     App.,  p.  521. 

Persons  holding  the  universal  and  actual  salvation  of 
the  whole  human  race  or  of  fallen  anscels  are  not  to  be 
received. t 

Persons  refusing  to  present  their  children  for  baptism 
are  not  to  be  refused  on  account  of  scruples  concerning 
infant  baj^tism,  yet  in  every  such  case  the  Session  must 
judge  of  the  expediency  of  admitting  them.f 

Duelists  and  those  who  have  been  accessories  are  not 
to  be  received  until  they  manifest  a  just  sense  of  guilt 
and  give  satisfactory  evidence  of  repentance.  (Ministers 
are  recommended  not  to  attend  the  funeral  of  one  who 
has  fallen  in  a  duel.)| 

Sabbath-breakers,  including  all  those  who  carry  on 
secular  occupations  on  the  Lord's  Day,  furtiier  than  ne- 
cessity and  mercy  may  demand,  with  a  view  to  secure 
worldly  advantages,  are  to  be  refused. J 

No  general  rule  is  to  be  made  concerning  those  en- 
gaged in  the  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors,  but  the  Session 
must  judge  in  each  case  as  to  his  reception  or  rejec- 
tion.§  In  1865  the  O.  S.  Assembly  said:  "It  is  not 
adopting  any  new  term  of  communion  to  exclude  persons 
from  sealing  ordinances  on  the  ground  of  their  manufac- 
turing and  vending  intoxicating  drinks  as  a  beverage. 
On  the  contrary,  it  is  only  falling  back  upon  the  teachings 
of  the  Bible  and  the  constitution  of  the  Ciiurch,  which 
requires  visible  Christianity,  in  a  credible  form,  of  those 
who  would  partake  of  these  ordinances,  and  refuses  the 
privileges  to  those  who  by  overt  acts  of  'offence  fail  to 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  678.  f  Ibid.,  p.  674. 

X  Ibid.,  p.  G75.  g  Ibid.,  pp.  G76,  483-493.     See  p.  470. 


EECEPTION    OF    MEMBERS.  137 

present  such  evidence."  *  In  1877  the  Assembly  called 
upon  "  the  Sessions  of  our  churches  to  guard  carefully 
the  purity  of  our  Church,  by  refusing  to  admit  to  mem- 
bership, or  to  retain  those  within  her  pale,  who  are  en- 
gaged in  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors 
as  a  beverage,  or  who  derive  their  livelihood  from  this 
sinful  traffic."  f 

(2)  The  receiving  of  communicants  from  other 
churches.  This  can  be  done  only  on  certificates,  or- 
derly drawn  up,  and  within  one  year  of  the  date  of 
their  issue.  J  If  a  church  of  another  denomination 
refuses  to  give  a  letter  of  dismissal,  a  certificate  of 
good  standing  should  be  sought.  If  this  be  denied, 
and  there  be  no  charges  against  the  applicant,  and 
the  Session  has  satisfactory  information  concerning  his 
Christian  life,  he  may  be  received  on  profession  of  his 
faith. 

(3)  The  receiving  of  baptized  members  to  full  commu- 
nion and  to  all  the  privileges  of  the  church  on  an  exam- 
ination of  their  knowledge  and  faith.§  The  O.  S.  Assem- 
bly in  1853  declared  that  "every  Session  must  judge  for 
themselves  of  that  degree  of  knowledge  of  Christian 
doctrine  and  adherence  thereto  on  the  part  of  those  ex- 
amined by  them,  which  may  render  their  reception  suit- 
able and  for  their  own  edification  and  the  peace  of  the 
Church."  In  1864  the  N.  S.  Assembly  decided  :  "It  is 
the  province  of  the  Session  to  judge  of  the  qualifications 
of  candidates  for  membership  in  the  church.  For  their 
guidance  in  the  matters  noticed  in  the  overture  (as  to 
dancing,  card-playing  and  the  use,  manufacture  and  sale 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  490.  f  Minutes  G.  A.  1877,  p.  558. 

X  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  130,  352,  622,  625.     See  p.  147. 
I  Directory  for  Worship,  ch.  ix. 
12  * 


138  '  OF   THE    CHURCH    SESSION. 

of  iutoxicating  liquors)  reference  is  made  to  past  acts 
of  the  Assembly,  fouml  in  'Digest/  ch.  vii.,  on  Moral 
Questions."  * 

And  (4)  the  restoration  of  those  who  have  been  under 
church  discipline,  on  satisfactory  evidence  of  their  repent- 
ance and  reformation. f 

When  does  cliurcli  membersliip  begin  ? 

(1)  At  birth.  When  the  parents  are  professing  Chris- 
tians, then  the  children  are  "  born  in  the  pale  of  the  vis- 
ible Church,"  "  which  consists  of  all  those  throughout 
the  world  that  profess  the  true  religion,  together  with 
their  children."! 

(2)  When  the  applicant  is  received  by  the  Session  on 
certificate.  The  Session  represents  the  church,  and  is  the 
only  body  which  has  power  to  receive  members.  Nothing 
more  is  necessary  to  give  validity  to  the  act  of  the  Ses- 
sion. The  reception  is  generally  published  from  the  pul- 
pit at  the  next  administration  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  and 
sometimes  even  by  the  personal  aj)pearance  of  the  new 
communicant  before  the  congregation,  and  sometimes  a 
form  is  observed  of  public  welcome  by  the  Pastor  and 
church  members.  A  formula  was  proposed  in  1873  to  the 
Assembly  by  a  committee  appointed  for  that  purpose:  tliis 
was  ordered  to  be  printed  in  the  Minutes  and  was  referred 
to  the  next  Assembly,  which,  after  some  discussion,  in- 
definitely postponed  the  matter.  In  1875  the  Assembly 
refused  to  reconsider  the  subject.§  In  1865  the  N.  S. 
Assembly,  speaking  of  the  confessions  of  faith  and  cov- 
enants used  in  local  churches  for  the  recognition  of  mera- 

*  Presbyterian  Dujesl,  p.  676.  ' 

f  Directory  for  Worship,  ch.  x.,  sect.  viii. 

X  Ibid.,  ch.  ix.,  sect.  i. ;  Confession  of  Faith,  ch.  xxv.,  sect.  ii. 

§  Minutes  G.  A.  1S73,  pp.  549,  640;  187 Jf,  pp.  16,  52;  1S75,  p.  506, 


IlE(^EPTION    OF   MEMBERS.  139 

bei3,  says  that  these  may  or  may  not  be  used  as  the  Ses- 
sion may  think  expedient,  but  are  not  essential  to  the 
establishment  of  membership;  but,  "whether  used  or 
not,  the  vote  of  Session  is,  by  the  constitution  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  the  act  on  which  membership  de- 
pends." And  in  1872  the  Assembly  asserted  "that  the 
admission  of  persons  to  sealing  ordinances  is  confided  by 
the  'Form  of  Government'  really  and  exclusively  to 
the  church  Session."  "  That  any  forms  for  publicly  rec- 
ognizing those  who  have  been  thus  admitted  to  sealing 
ordinances  should  keep  in  view  the  principle  thus  de- 
clared." * 

(3)  On  the  profession  of  faith  before  the  Session.  If  the 
applicant  has  not  been  baptized,  he  is  received  into  member- 
ship by  the  Session  on  profession  of  his  faith,  and  therefore 
has  a  right  to  baptism.  He  is  to  be  baptized,  not  to  become 
a  member,  but  because  he  is  a  member  of  the  Church. 
The  N.  S.  Assembly  in  1865  stated  that  the  administra- 
tion of  baptism  "  must  of  course  be  involved  in  and  at- 
tendant upon  this  sessional  act,  either  at  the  time,  which 
would  be  entirely  proper,  or  at  a  subsequent  period  ap- 
pointed for  that  purpose."  In  1867  it  asserted,  "The 
vote  of  Session  does  not  entitle  an  unbaptized  person  to 
privileges  of  the  Church,  for  the  reason  that  baptism,  as 
our  '  Confession  of  Faith '  declares  (ch.  xxviii.,  sect,  i.), 
is  declared  to  be  a  sacrament  for  the  solemn  admission 
of  the  party  baptized  into  the  visible  Church."  f  The 
report  of  the  committee  appointed  by  the  Assembly  of 
1872,  which  was  referred  to  the  next  Assembly,  and 
finally  indefinitely  postponed,  says  :  "  The  act  of  Session 
must  be  regarded  as  inchoate  till  baptism,  as  enjoined  by 
our  constitution  and  the  New  Testament,  is  administer- 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  129,  678.  f  If^^d;  pp.  129,  130. 


140  OF   THE   CHURCH   SESSION. 

ed."  *  Dr.  Hodge  says :  "  Baptism  does  not  make  a  man 
a  member  of  the  Church ;  it  is  the  public  and  orderly 
recognition  of  his  membership."  f  This  baptism  may  be 
administered  before  the  Session  or  in  the  presence  of  the 
congregation.  | 

May  a  Session  refuse  to  receive  a  commimicant  presenting 
a  certificate  from  another  church  ? 

If  the  certificate  be  regular  and  in  order,  the  Session 
may  refuse  to  receive  the  applicant  if  not  satisfied  with 
his  knowledge  and  piety,  or  if  they  deem  it  inexpedient 
for  the  church  to  receive  him.  The  Session  must  judge 
of  the  qualifications  of  its  members.  This  principle  was 
declared  by  the  N.  S.  Assembly  in  1864. §  It  has  been 
frequently  recognized  by  the  O.  S.  Assembly  and  by  the 
reunited  Church.  Our  "Form  of  Government"  gives 
this  right  to  all  the  courts.  The  Assembly  has  always 
defended  the  privilege  of  the  Presbytery  to  judge  by  ex- 
amination the  fitness  of  its  members.  ||.  The  decision,  as 
every  other  act,  is  subject  to  review  by  the  higher  courts. 

If  the  certificate  be  a  qualified  one,  the  Session  must 
judge  of  the  circumstances,  their  personal  knowledge  of 
the  Christian  life  of  the  candidate,  and  the  propriety  of 
admitting  him.^ 

May  members  be  received  without  a  formal  meeting  of 
the  Session  ? 

The  reception  of  members  is  one  of  the  most  import- 
ant acts  and  prerogatives  of  the  Session.  The  Pastor 
and  Elders  meeting  informally  or  without  a  quorum  do 

*  Minnies  G.  A.  1873,  p.  638.  f  Church  Polity,  p.  246. 

X  Directory  for  Worship,  cli.  ix.,  sect.  iv.  » 

^  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  676.  ||  Ibid.,  p.  150. 

^  Book  of  Discipline,  ch.  xi.,  sects,  i.  and  iv. ;  Presbyterian  Digest,  p. 
625 ;  note  by  Kev.  W.  E.  Moore,  D.  D. 


DISMISSION   OF   MEMBERS.  141 

not  constitute  a  Session,  and  cannot  act  as  such.*  Yet 
in  cases  of  necessity,  as  the  severe  sickness  or  the  infirm- 
ity of  the  applicant,  or  the  impracticability  of  obtaining 
a  quorum  of  Session,  a  part  of  the  Session  may  hold 
an  informal  meeting  and  examine  the  candidate,  and  re- 
port to  the  Session  duly  organized,  which  may  act  upon 
the  reception.f 

Wliat  notice  should  be  given  of  the  reception  of  mem- 
bers? 

On  the  reception  of  a  member  the  Session  should  im- 
mediately notify  the  church  from  which  he  has  been 
dismissed.  | 

Whom  may  the  Session  dismiss  ? 

"When  any  member  shall  remove  from  one  congre- 
gation to  another,  he  shall  produce  satisfactory  testi- 
monials of  his  church  membership  and  dismission."  § 
These  are  to  be  obtained  by  a  formal  application  to  the 
Session. 

Those  whom  the  Session  find  to  be  in  good  and  regular 
standing  shall  be  dismissed  with  regular  letters  to  unite 
with  some  other  particular  church.  |  Their  names  are 
to  be  retained  on  the  roll  of  communicants  until  the 
Session  is  duly  notified  of  their  reception  by  the  church 
to  which  they  >vere  dismissed.  1|  Sessions  are  urged  to 
use  the  form  of  certificates  prepared  by  the  Board  of 
Publication.^  In  1869  the  O.  S.  Assembly  ordered 
that  certificates  should  be  furnished  to  removing  mem- 
])ers,  "whether  in  full  communion  or  members  by  bap- 

*  See  p.  124,  and  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  130.  f  See  p.  125. 

X  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  624. 

§  Book  of  Discipline,  ch.  xi.,  sect.  i. 

II  Minutes  O.  A.  1874,  P-  82. 

T[  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  625.     See  p.  145. 


142  OF    THE    CIIUECH   SESSION. 

tism  only,  with  testimonials  of  their  standing,"  and  that 
the  Session  shall  send  a  copy  of  the  testimonials  to  the 
chui-ch  "within  the  reach  of  the  parties  so  removed,"  if 
there  be  but  a  single  church  of  our  order  near  them.* 
The  Southern  C'hurch  requires  that  certificates  of  dis- 
mission "shall  always  include  the  names  of  their  bap- 
tized children."!    Appendix,  p.  521. 

Those  who  have  been  absent  for  some  time  from  the 
oversight  of  the  Session  may  be  dismissed  with  qualified 
letters;  that  is,  with  testimonials  as  "to  their  character 
only  up  to  the  time  of  their  removal,  unless  the  judicatory 
have  good  information  of  a  more  recent  date."  If  absent 
more  than  two  years,  "their  absence  and  the  ignorance  of 
the  church  respecting  their  demeanor  for  that  time  should 
be  distinctly  stated  in  the  certificates."!  In  accordance 
with  this,  the  O.  S.  Assembly  decided  that  neither  the 
Presbytery  nor  Synod  can,  in  such  a  case,  order  regular 
certificates  to  be  given,  the  qualified  letters  being  "agree- 
able to  the  constitution  and  to  the  truth."  § 

May  a  suspended  member  be  dismissed  ? 

A  suspended  member  remains  under  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  Session  which  suspended  him :  it  alone  can  re- 
move the  sentence.  Yet  the  O.  S.  Assembly  decided  in 
1849  that  in  circumstances  of  necessity,  arising  from  re- 
moval to  an  inconvenient  distance,  a  suspended  member 
may  be  dismissed  to  another  church  with  a  certificate 
stating  the  case;  "provided,  that  in  no  instance  the  Ses- 
sion to  which  he  be  dismissed  be  allowed  to  review  or 
rejudge  the  case."]]     The  above  decision  Avould  give  the 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  624.  » 

f  Book  of  Church  Order,  ch.  v.,  sect,  iii.,  sub-sect.  v. 

J  Book  of  Discipline,  ch.  xi.,  sects,  iii.  and  iv. 

§  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  570.  ||  Tbid,  p.  623. 


DISMISSION    OF    MEMBERS.  143 

Session  receiving  him  the  jurisdiction  which  the  other 
Session  possessed — viz.  of  restoring  the  oifender  on  sat- 
isfactory repentance  and  reformation. 

If  a  suspended  member  be  restored,  how  may  he  be  dis- 
missed ? 

If  tlie  Session  restore  him,  he  is  of  course  restored  to 
good  and  regular  standing,  and  then,  if  dismissed,  he 
must  receive  the  usual  certificate. 

If  he  be  restored  by  a  superior  court  on  review,  appeal 
or  complaint,  he  is  restored  to  full  membership,  and  the 
Session  is  bound  to  give  him  regular  letters.* 

May  a  certificate  of  dismission  be  indefinite  ? 

The  O.  S.  Assembly  in  1853  decided  that  in  some  cases 
the  Session  may  dismiss  a  member  without  specifying 
the  church  with  which  he  is  to  unite.  But  the  reunited 
Church  in  1871  urged  upon  Sessions  the  importance  of 
giving  to  members  who  remove  from  them  either  letters 
of  dismission  and  recommendation  to  a  particular  church, 
or,  in  case  of  uncertain  destination,  letters  of  credence. 
The  O.  S.  Assembly  in  1869  recommended  that  the  Session 
should  furnish  any  member  removing  from  their  bounds, 
whether  in  full  communion  or  member  by  baptism  only, 
with  testimonials  of  his  standing,  which  should  be  pre- 
sented as  soon  as  possible  to  some  church  of  our  con- 
nection, and  that  such  person  be  advised  to  transfer  his 
relation  at  the  earliest  opportunity.f 

May  members  be  dismissed  to  join  another  denomina- 
tion? 

This  is  often  done.  The  O.  S.  Assembly  in  1839  de- 
cided that  in  such  cases  "the  proper  course  is  to  give  a 
certificate  of  Christian  character  only."     In  1848  this 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  623. 
t  Ibid.,  pp.  623,  624. 


144  OF   THE   CHURCH    SESSION. 

rule  was  declared  to  be  "  neither  a  censure  on  the  indi- 
viduals nor  the  churches  to  which  they  seek  to  be  dis- 
missed, but  sets  forth  the  only  fact  which  it  is  important, 
for  those  churches  to  know."  But  in  1851  the  O.  S. 
Assembly  stated  "that  the  whole  subject  is  one  that 
ought  to  be  left  to  the  sound  discretion  of  the  various 
church  Sessions,  according  to  the  constitution  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church."  * 

Is  the  Session  the  only  body  that  may  grant  a  certificate 
of  dismission? 

It  is  a  sessional  act,  yet  the  Synod  has  the  power  to 
order  the  Presbytery  to  issue  to  a  communicant  a  cer- 
tificate of  dismission  from  a  church  ;  and  such  certificate 
was  declared  by  the  Assembly  to  be  a  valid  document.f 
The  case  which  was  the  occasion  of  this  decision  was 
peculiar.  Tlie  Session  having  repeatedly  refused  to  obey 
the  order  of  Presbytery  to  grant  a  dismissal  to  one  of 
its  members,  the  Synod  ordered  the  Presbytery  to 
furnish  a  certificate.  The  communicant  appealed  to 
the  Assembly,  on  the  ground  that  such  a  certificate  was 
not  valid,  and  would  arouse  suspicion  unless  endorsed 
by  the  highest  authority. 

How  are  members  of  a  dissolved  church  to  obtain  let- 
ters? 

A  church  can  be  dissolved  by  Presbytery,  even  "  over- 
ruling the  wishes  of  a  majority  of  the  members  of  the 
said  church  organization.!  When  this  is  done,  it  is  the 
duty  of  the  Presbytery  to  transfer  the  members  to  some 
other  churcli.  The  N.  S.  Assembly  in  1869  declared  that 
the  members  of  a  dissolved  church  are  amenable  to  Pres- 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  623. 
t  3Iinutes  G.  A.  1875,  p.  511. 
X  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  172;  Minutes  G.  A.  1875,  p.  507. 


CERTIFICATES.  145 

bytery  for  their  certificates,  their  use  of  them  and  for 
their  conduct.* 

When  does  dismission  take  effect  ? 

In  1867  the  N.  S.  Assembly,  in  answer  to  this  ques- 
tion, said  :  "  A  letter  of  dismission,  whether  issued  to  a 
Ruling  Elder  or  private  member,  terminates  the  rela- 
tions of  the  person  dismissed  with  the  church  giving;  the 
letter,  except  so  far  as  said  church  is  responsible  for  its 
watch  and  care  over  him  during  the  period  of  transi- 
tion." "  These  rights  and  privileges  can  be  regained  in 
that  church  by  returning  the  letters  of  dismission  to  the 
authority  which  gave  them."  f 

May  a  dismission  wMch  is  irregular  be  valid? 

The  O.  S.  Assembly  in  1849  recognized  the  validity 
of  certificates,  while  disapproving  of  the  manner  in  which 
they  were  issued.J  If  the  Session  be  not  satisfied  with 
the  certificates  presented,  they  may  return  them  to  have 
the  informalities  corrected  before  receiving  the  members. 
Or  if,  however,  the  informalities  be  not  considered  of 
importance,  the  intention  of  the  Session  dismissing  being 
evident,  or  "  the  church  to  which  they  remove  have  other 
satisfactory  means  of  information  "  of  their  membership 
and  dismission, §  they  may  be  received,  subject  of  course 
to  the  review  of  Presbytery. 

Wiat  is  tlie  form  of  a  regular  certificate  ? 

" , ,  188-. 

"  This  is  to  Certify,  That is  a  mem- 
ber in  good  standing  of  the Presbyterian  church 

of ,  and  that  —  is  hereby  dismissed  at  —  own  re- 
quest, and  affectionately  recommended  to  the  fellowship 
of  the Presbyterian  church  of ,  or  of  any 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  617.  f  Ibid.,  p.  352. 

X  Ibid.,  p.  624.  2  Book  of  Discipline,  ch.  xi.,  sect.  i. 

13  K 


146  OF    THE   CHURCH    SESSION. 

other  cliurch  in  our  communion  with  which  God  in  his 
providence  may  order  —  lot ;  and  when  so  received  — • 
responsibility  to  this  church  will  cease. 
"  By  order  of  the  Session, 

" ,  Moderator." 

A  note  is  generally  added,  stating  that  the  above  cer- 
tificate is  valid  for  one  year  after  its  date.* 

If  the  person  dismissed  be  an  Elder  or  Deacon,  the 

certificate  should  state  that "  he  has  for  the  space  of 

years  sustained  the  office  of  Ruling  Elder  [or  Deacon]  to 
the  edification  of  the  church,  and  enjoyed  the  fraternal 
confidence  and  affection  of  his  brethren  in  the  eldership  " 
[or  of  its  officers]. 

What  is  the  form  of  a  certificate  of  reception  ? 

" , ,188-. 

"  This  Certifies,  That was  on  the 

day  of ,  188-,  received  by  the  Session 


into  the  communion  of  the Presbyterian  church 

of ,  on  a  certificate  of  dismission  from  the 

Presbyterian  church  of . 

"  By  order  of  the  Session, 

" ,  Mode)'ator" 

What  is  the  form  of  a  qualified  certificate  of  dismission  ? 

" , ,188-. 


"  This  is  to  Certify,  That was  a 

member  in  good  standing  of  the  Presbyterian 

church  of until ,  188-,  since  which 

date  he  has  been  absent  from  the  oversight  of  the  Ses- 
sion. —  is  hereby  dismissed  at  —  own  request,  and 
commended  to  the  fellowship  of  the Presbyterian 

*  Book  of  Discipline,  ch.  xi.,  sect.  ii. 


CERTIFICATES.  147 

church  of ,  or  of  any  other  church  in  our  com- 
munion with  which  God  in  his  providence  may  order  — 
lot ;  and  when  so  received  —  responsibility  to  this  church 
will  cease. 

"  By  order  of  the  Session, 

" ,  Moderator." 

Wlat  is  a  letter  of  credence  ? 

It  is  a  letter  given  to  a  communicant  who  is  about  to 
travel  or  to  remove,  and  is  unable  to  state  with  what 
particular  church  he  may  determine  to  unite.  It  may 
be  worded  thus : 

"This  is  to  Certify,  That is  a 

member  of  the Presbyterian  church  of  

in  good  standing.     As  he  contemplates  spending  some 

in  journeying,  this  letter  of  credence  is  given 

to  — -,  that  it  may  introduce  —  to  the  people  of  God, 
and  facilitate  —  occasional  communion  with  any  church 
of  oiir  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ  among  whom  — 
may  for  the  time  be  sojourning. 

"  By  order  of  the  Session, 

" ,  Moderator J^ 

May  membership  be  terminated  in  any  other  way  ? 

"  No  member  of  a  church  can  properly  ever  cease  to 
be  such  but  by  death,  exclusion,  a  regular  dismission  or 
an  orderly  withdrawing  to  join  some  other  Christian  de- 
nomination." * 

May  a  member  connect  himself  with  another  church  on 
profession  of  faith  ? 

This  is  disorderly.    His  church  relation  cannot  be  thus 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  625;  Minutes  G.  A.  1875,  p.  505;  1S78,  p, 
58. 


148  OF   THE   CHURCH   SESSION. 

ignored  or  dissolved.  He  is  still  under  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  Session,  and  liable  to  discipline  for  attempting  to 
unite  with  another  church.  If  he  has  been  suspended, 
he  can  be  restored  only  on  confession  and  reformation, 
and  not  by  profession  of  faith  in  another  church.  The 
N.  S.  Assembly  in  1866  declared  that  "so  soon  as  the 
facts  in  the  case  are  ascertained  by  the  Session  of  the 
second  church,  the  proper  order  of  procedure  is  for  this 
Session,  after  conference  with  the  accused  person,  to  strike 
his  name  from  their  roll  of  church-members  as  not  under 
their  jurisdiction,  to  communicate  their  action  to  the 
Session  suspending  him,  with  the  reasons  for  it,  and  to 
request  the  said  Session  to  proceed  against  him  on  sepa- 
rate process  for  duplicity  and  disorder."  * 

If  the  church  with  which  he  unites  be  one  of  another 
denomination,  the  Session  may  order  his  name  to  be 
struck  from  the  roll  of  communicants,  or  may,  by  pro- 
cess of  discipline,  suspend  him  from  church  privileges.f 
The  N.  S.  Assembly  in  1839  recommended  that  no  other 
action  should  be  taken  than  to  strike  his  name  from 
the  roll. I  This  action  was  reaffirmed  by  the  Assembly 
of  1879.§     Appendix,  p.  521. 

How  are  absent  members  to  be  treated  ? 

If  a  member  willfully  absents  himself  from  the  ordi- 
nances of  the  church,  he  is  guilty  of  high  offence,  and 
the  Session  should  make  such  case  a  matter  of  discipline. 
So  the  O.  S.  Assembly  affirmed  several  times.  Disagree- 
ment with  the  Pastor  and  diligence  in  supporting  and 
attending  another  church  are  reasons  by  no  means  to  be 
received   as  justifying   his   absence  and    his  refusal  to 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  616.  f  Ibid.,  p.  625. 

X  Ibid.,  p.  169. 

§  Minutes  G.  A.  1879,  p.  613.     See  Assembly's  Digest,  i)p.  59,  262, 


ABSENT   MEMBEES.  149 

support  the  church  to  which  he  belongs.  The  N.  S. 
Assembly  recognizes  the  above  principle  in  its  decision 
in  1865,  declaring  that  in  such  a  case,  even  when  the  ab- 
sentee sends  a  written  confession  that  he  has  embraced 
heretical  views,  has  therefore  absented  himself,  and  de- 
sires to  be  cut  off  from  the  church,  a  formal  trial  is  neces- 
sary.* 

If  a  member  remove,  to  reside  elsewhere  for  a  number 
of  years  or  indefinitely,  the  Session  should  counsel  him 
to  transfer  his  relation  to  the  church  within  whose  bounds 
he  may  be.f  The  Southern  Presbyterian  Church  orders 
that  "  if  he  shall  neglect  for  twelve  months,  without  sat- 
isfactory reasons  given  to  both  these  courts,  to  transfer 
his  ecclesiastical  relation,  the  court  whose  bounds  he  has 
left  shall  be  required  to  transfer  them.  And  should  that 
court  neglect  this  duty,  the  one  into  whose  bounds  he  has 
removed  shall  assume  jurisdiction,  giving  due  notice  to 
the  other  body."  |  Such  power  is  not  recognized  by  our 
constitution  nor  by  the  decisions  of  our  Assembly. 

If  a  member  be  absent  for  some  time,  and  his  resi- 
dence be  unknown  to  the  Session,  he  is  by  no  means  to 
have  his  name  erased  from  the  roll.  "  If  he  should 
ever  return  or  be  heard  from,  he  is  to  be  regularly  dealt 
with  according  to  the  word  of  God  and  the  principles 
of  our  Church."  If  the  Session  has  good  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  he  "  has  absented  himself  with  design,  either 
from  a  disregard  of  Christian  privilege  or  from  a  wish 
to  escape  from  the  inspection  or  discipline  of  the  church, 
they  ought  without  unnecessary  delay  to  declare  him 
suspended  from  the  privileges  of  the  church,  etc."  The 
N.  S.  Assembly  in  1853  declared  that  according  to  the 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  493,  494.  f  Ibid.,  pp.  624,  628. 

X  Book  of  Church  Order,  Part  II.,  cli.  xv.,  sect.  ii. 
13  « 


150  OF   THE   CHURCH   SESSION. 

"Book  of  Discipline,"  ch.  xi., a  church  member  may  not 
absent  himself  for  a  longer  time  than  one  year  from  the 
ordinances  "  without  a  forfeiture  of  his  good  standing." 
AVhen  one  has  been  absent  for  years  and  his  residence 
unknown,  the  Session  should  make  record  of  the  fact, 
and  declare  that  he  has  forfeited  his  good  standing  until 
he  returns  and  accounts  for  his  absence.  The  O.  S.  As- 
sembly in  1865  passed  a  similar  order.  A  member  ab- 
sent for  two  years  and  his  residence  unknown  shall  be 
marked  absent  on  the  roll,  and  his  name  shall  not  be 
counted  in  the  statistical  reports  to  Presbytery.  If  he 
return,  the  Session  shall  cite  him  to  appear,  and  inquire 
concerning  his  conduct,  and  restore  his  name  or  disci- 
pline him  as  the  case  may  require.  The  O.  S.  Assem- 
bly in  1856  required  that  the  names  of  absentees,  whose 
whereabouts  are  unknoMm,  be  placed  on  a  reserved 
list,  and  not  be  reported  among  the  communicants  until 
they  return  and  satisfy  the  Session.  The  Assembly  of 
the  reunited  Church  ratified  the  above  in  1872  by  de- 
claring, "  It  may  nevertheless  be  well  for  each  church  to 
record  on  a  separate  list  the  names  of  those  who  have 
been  absent  for  more  than  two  years  from  their  church 
relations,  and  whose  residence  is  unknown ;  and  the 
names  thus  recorded  may  be  omitted  in  the  statistical 
returns  of  the  church."  * 

May  a  member's  name  be  erased  at  his  request? 

"  The  constitution  of  the  Church  provides  for  no  de- 
mission of  her  members,  or  the  striking  oif  of  names 
from  her  roll,  save  as  the  result  of  death  or  excommu- 
nication."! The  Assembly  in  1875  was  asked  if  the 
Session  may  grant  the  request  of  a  member  to  have  Jiia 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  624-628.     See  pp.  142,  284. 
t  Ibid.,  p.  628. 


DEMISSION    OF    MEMBEKS.  151 

connection  with  the  churcli  dissolved  on  the  ground  of 
want  of  piety  or  of  change  in  doctrinal  belief.  The  an- 
swer given  was,  that  this  "  would  decidedly  be  irregular 
and  injurious."  "There  are  many  sincere  persons  who, 
notwithstanding  the  most  persevering  efforts  to  enlighten 
them,  remain  ignorant  of  the  best  evidences  of  personal 
piety,  and  from  despondency  or  spiritual  indolence  may 
desire  to  have  their  names  dropped  from  the  roll  of  com- 
municants. Long  forbearance  should  be  exercised  toward 
such,  and  in  course  of  time  we  may  hope  that  they  may 
become  happy  in  the  enjoyment  of  their  privileges. 
There  are,  however,  some  who  give  painful  evidence  of 
the  Avant  of  spiritual  life,  and,  after  diligent  eiforts  to 
reclaim  them,  willfully  refuse  to  repent  of  sin  or  to 
put  faith  in  Christ.  These  should  be  dealt  with  in  a 
Avise,  decided  manner.  They  should  be  charged  with 
the  guilt  of  impenitence  and  a  breach  of  their  covenant 
obligations.  Their  own  confessions  render  useless  most 
of  the  usual  forms  of  process  in  cases  of  outward  and 
scandalous  offences,  but  they  should  nevertheless  be 
treated  as  offenders  ('Book  of  Discipline,'  ch.  i.,  sect, 
iii.) ;  and  when  this  is  ineffectual  to  bring  them  to  re- 
jientance,  they  should  be  in  a  regular  manner  suspended 
from  the  communion  of  the  Churcli."* 

In  1878  the  Assembly  was  asked,  "What  shall  be 
done  with  persons  who,  after  having  been,  upon  ex- 
amination, received  by  the  Session,  conclude  that  they 
are  not  Christians,  never  come  to  the  Lord's  Supper, 
and  request  that  their  names  be  erased?"  The  fol- 
lowing reply  was  made:  "There  are  but  three  ways 
in  which  the  name  of  a  person  can  be  removed  from 
the  roll  of  a  church.  These  are  by  death,  by  dismis- 
*  3finules  G.  A.  1875,  p.  505. 


152  OF   THE   CHURCH   SESSION. 

sion  to  another  church  and  by  the  administration  of 
discipline.  Great  forbearance,  however,  should  be  exer- 
cised toward  those  whose  position  has  been  indicated  in 
the  overture.  Their  unfavorable  judgment  in  regard  to 
themselves  may  be  dependent  upon  a  temporary  depres-, 
sion  of  mind.  They  should  therefore  be  the  subject  of 
earnest  prayer  and  aifectionate  expostulation,  with  the 
hope  that  they  may  be  brought  to  tlie  enjoyment  of 
Christian  privileges.  The  application  of  these  general 
principles,  however,  must  be  left  to  the  discretion  of  the 
Session."*     Appendix,  p.  522. 

The  Southern  Church,  however,  says :  "  When  a  com- 
municating member  shall  confess  before  the  church  Ses- 
sion an  unregenerate  heart,  and  there  is  no  evidence  of 
other  offence,  the  court  may  transfer  his  name  to  the  roll 
of  non-communicating  members,  and  he  shall  be  faith- 
fully warned  of  his  guilt  in  disobeying  tlie  gospel,  and 
encouraged  to  seek  the  redemption  freely  offered  in  Christ; 
and  a  statement  of  the  case  shall  be  made  to  the  church. 
But  this  action  shall  not  be  taken  until  the  church  Ses- 
sion has  ascertained,  after  mature  inquiry  and  due  delay, 
that  this  confession  does  not  result  from  Satanic  tempt- 
ation or  transient  darkness  of  spirit.  This  rule,  liow- 
ever,  shall  not  be  applied  to  those  who  willfully  absent 
themselves  from  the  Lord's  table,  which  is  always  an 
offence."  f 

How  are  members  received  and  dismissed  in  other 
churches  ? 

In  Episcopal  churches  the  whole  power  of  receiving 
and  dismissing  members  rests  in  the  Pastor  or  Rector. 
When  he  who  was  baptized  in  infancy  "can  say  the  Creed, » 

*  Minutes  6.  A.  1878,  p.  58. 

t  Book  of  Church  Order,  Part  II.,  ch.  xii.,  sect.  ii. 


RECEPTION    OF    MEMBERS    IN    OTHER   CHURCHES.  153 

the  Lord's  Prayer  and  the  Ten  Commandments,  and  is 
sufficiently  instructed  in  other  pai'ts  of  the  Church  Cate- 
chism set  forth  for  that  purpose/'  he  is  to  "be  brought 
to  the  Bishop  to  be  confirmed  by  him;"  "which  order 
(of  confirmation)  is  very  convenient  to  be  observed,  to 
the  end  that  children,  being  now  come  to  years  of  dis- 
cretion, and  having  learned  what  their  godfathers  and 
godmothers  promised  for  them  in  baptism,  may  them- 
selves, with  their  own  mouth  and  consent,  openly  before 
the  church,  ratify  and  confirm  the  same,  and  also  promise 
that  by  the  grace  of  God  they  will  evermore  themselves 
faithfully  observe  such  things  as  they  by  their  own  con- 
fession have  assented  unto."  It  is  usual  that  those  ap- 
plying for  confirmation  should  be  under  the  frequent  and 
special  instruction  of  the  Rector  for  some  time  before  they 
are  presented  to  the  Bishop.  Often  evidences  of  regen- 
eration are  required.  The  responsibility  in  each  case  is 
with  the  Rector,  who  "  shall  either  bring  or  send  in  writing, 
with  his  hand  subscribed  thereunto,  the  names  of  all  such 
persons  within  his  parish  as  he  shall  think  fit  to  l>e  pre- 
sented to  the  Bishop  to  be  confirmed."  *  Communicants 
are  transferred  from  one  congregation  to  another  by  cer- 
tificates from  the  Rector.  Persons  from  other  denomi- 
nations are  received  on  application  for  confirmation,  and 
rebaptism  is  sometimes  recommended. 

In  the  Reformed  Episcopal  Church  adults  are  baptized 
on  profession  of  faith  and  repentance,  and  all  applicants 
for  confirmation  must  make  a  similar  confession.f  "A 
communicant  of  another  Christian  Church  in  good  stand- 
ing may  be  received  to  the  communion  of  this  Church 
on  a  letter  of  dismission  or  other  satisfactory  evidence,  on 

*  Common  Prayer. 

f  Common  Prayer  of  the  Reformed  Episcopal  Church. 


154  '  OF   THE   CHURCH    SESSION. 

assenting  to  the  distinctive  principles  of  this  Church." 
And  a  communicant  may  "be  furnished  with  a  certificate 
or  letter  of  dismissal  to  any  Christian  Churt^h,"  *  Tlie 
power  is  with  the  Rector. 

In  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  no  one  can  be  re- 
ceived into  the  Church  until  he  has  been  on  probation  at 
least  six  months,  been  recommended  by  the  Leaders  and 
Stewards'  Meeting,  and  has  given  to  the  Minister  satisfac- 
tory assurance  of  the  correctness  of  his  faith  and  of  his 
willingness  to  observe  the  rules  of  the  Church.  Persons 
in  good  standing  in  other  orthodox  churches  are  received 
on  certificate  at  once,  after  giving  satisfactory  answers  to 
the  usual  inquiries,  to  full  fellowship. f 

In  the  Congregational  Church  "  persons  are  admitted 
to  the  church  by  a  vote  of  the  brethren."  "  Credible 
evidence  of  piety  is  a  necessary  prerequisite  to  commu- 
nion and  church  membership."  "  If  any  of  their  mem- 
bers wish  to  unite  with  churches  of  other  evangelical 
denominations,  letters  are  given  to  such  churches,"  and 
members  of  other  churches  "are  received  on  certificate 
as  from  sister  churches." J  Generally  there  is  a  "Pru- 
dential Committee,"  composed  of  the  Pastor  and  Deacons, 
to  whom  application  for  admission  is  made.  If  the  ap- 
plicants are  approved  by  these,  they  are  recommended  to 
the  church,  and  are  examined  as  to  their  faith  and  know- 
ledge, and  are  received  by  the  vote  of  the  brethren  and 
a  public  assent  to  the  Creed  of  the  Church. 

The  Baptist  churches  are  congregational  in  polity. 

In  the  Lutheran  Church  persons  applying  for  admission 
"  must  satisfy  the  church  Council  that  they  have  sincerely 

*  CanoTis  of  Reformed  Episcopal  Church,  title  iii.,  canon  7.  * 

t  Discipline,  1880,  Part  I.,  ch.  ii. 

X  Conf/regationqjt  Manual,  pp.  7,  11,  14.    Congrefjatiunnlism,]).  183. 


DISCIPLINE.  155 

repented  of  their  sins  and  truly  believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ;"  they  must  after  instruction  be  confirmed.* 

What  is  the  fourth  power  of  Session? 

To  administer  discipline — "  to  admonish,  to  rebuke,  to 
suspend  oi'  exclude  from  the  sacraments,  t\ose  who  are 
found  to  deserve  censure'^  (1  Cor,  11  :  27,  to  the  end ;  1 
Thess.  5  :  12,  13,  14;  2  Thess.  3  :  6,  14,  15).t 

What  is  meant  by  "  found  to  deserve  censure "  ? 

Convicted  on  evidence  in  a  formal  trial.  Censure 
upon  an  absent  person,  or  without  a  trial,  is  invalid, | 
The  plea  of  guilty  may  shorten  the  trial,  but  cannot  ren- 
der it  unnecessary.  Such  was  the  decision  of  the  N,  S. 
Assembly  in  1865  in  the  case  of  one  who  voluntarily 
confessed  heretical  sentiments  and  a  breach  of  covenant, 
and  who  waived  the  formality  of  a  trial  in  order  to  ex- 
communication from  the  Church. §  In  this  decision  ref- 
erence is  made  to  "  Book  of  Discipline,"  ch.  iv.  The 
reasons  seem  to  be,  that  the  Session  must  judge  of  the  cir- 
cumstances and  degree  of  guilt  before  passing  judgment, 
which  must  always  be  proportional  to  the  offence,  ||  and 
a  full  record  is  necessary  for  revicM'  by  tlie  higher  courts, 
and  for  reference  in  case  of  future  profession  of  repent- 
ance and  reformation.  In  1879  the  Assembly  was  asked, 
"  If  the  accused  person,  before  a  committee  regularly  ap- 
pointed by  the  judicatory  for  private  interview,  confess 
guilt  and  willful  persistence  in  sin,  and,  afterward  ap- 
pearing before  the  judicatory  upon  the  first  citation, 
again  confesses  guilt  and  willful  persistence  in  sin,  may 
the  judicatory  proceed   to  pass  their  sentence  without 

*  Formula  of  Government,  ch.  iv.,  sect,  v, 

f  Book  of  Discipline,  chs.  i.,  ii.,  iii.  and  iv,,  sect.  xvii. 

X  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  501.  I  Ibid.,  pp,  128,  505. 

II  Book  of  Discipline,  ch.  iv.,  sect.  xvii. 


156  OF    THE   CHURCH    SESSION. 

further  process  of  trial?"  The  Assembly  replied  "in 
the  affirmative."*  The  Southern  Presbyterian  Church 
says :  "  When  any  person  shall  come  forward  and  make 
his  offence  known  to  the  court,  a  full  statement  of  the 
facts  shall  be  recorded^  and  judgment  rendered  without 
])rocess."  f 

How  is  discipline  administered  in  other  churches  ? 

In  Episcopal  churches  the  power  of  discipline  is  in  the 
hands  of  the  Rector  of  the  church. 

In  Methodist  churches  all  the  communicants  are  di- 
vided into  classes.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  Class-leaders 
to  inquire  how  each  member  observes  the  rules  of  the 
Church  and  grows  in  the  knowledge  and  love  of  God. 
The  Class-leader  must  report  the  condition  of  his  class 
to  the  monthly  meeting  of  the  Pastor,  Leaders  and  Stew- 
ards. In  case  of  inconsistent  conduct,  the  offender  is  re- 
proved and  exhorted  by  his  Class-leader.  If  there  be 
no  reformation,  he  is  visited  by  the  Pastor,  his  Leader 
and  two  or  three  members.  If  he  will  not  hear  these, 
charges  are  presented  to  the  Pastor,  who  appoints  a  com- 
mittee of  communicants  to  try  him  and  pronounce  sen- 
tence. A  probationer  is  dropped  from  the  roll  without 
process,  by  a  decision  of  the  Leaders  and  Stewards' 
meeting.! 

In  Congregational  churches  "unworthy  members  are 
also  excluded  by  the  same  power" — the  vote  of  the 
brethren.  "  If  a  member  be  convinced  that  he  is  not 
truly  regenerate,  .  .  .  and  shall  request  a  dissolution  of 
his  connection  with  the  church,  if  there  be  no  scandal  in 
his  life  requiring  discipline,  his  request  shall  be  granted, 

*  3Iinutes  G.  A.  1879,  p.  613. 

f  Book  of  Church  Order,  Part  II.,  ch.  xii.,  sect.  i. 

X  Discipline,  ISSO,  TfTf  57,  223-239. 


DISCIPLINE   IN    OTHER   CHURCHES.  157 

after  due  labor  first  used,  by  a  simple  vote  declarative 
of  the  facts,  which  vote  shall  be  publicly  announced  at 
the  next  communion  season."  * 

In  the  Lutheran  Church  the  discipline  of  communi- 
cants is  administered  by  the  church  Council. f 

What  is  the  fifth  power  of  Session  mentioned  ? 

'  To  concert  the  best  measures  for  promoting  the  spirit- 
ual interest  of  the  congregation."  This  includes  (1)  ses- 
sional visitations  and  whatever  may  promote  the  orderly 
lives  of  church  members  or  the  unity  of  the  congrega- 
tion ;  (2)  the  charge  of  the  worship,  maintaining  the 
means  of  grace,  church  services,  prayer-meetings,  Sab- 
bath-schools, mission-stations,  the  music  of  the  church, 
etc ;  (3)  ihQ  activities  of  the  members  in  mission  opera- 
tions, care  of  the  poor  and  making  contributions ;  (4) 
the  conducting  of  congregational  meetings  for  the 
election  of  Pastor,  Elders  and  Deacons,  and  for  other 
purposes. 

How  are  sessional  visitations  to  be  conducted  ? 

The  Session  must  determine  how,  in  the  peculiar  cir- 
cumstances of  each  church  and  of  each  individual,  these 
visitations  can  be  conducted  best  for  edification.  The  old 
custom,  of  appointing  a  special  season  in  which  the  whole 
congregation  shall  be  visited,  has  proved  to  be  very  bene- 
ficial. Committees  of  two  or  more  Elders  are  often  ap- 
pointed to  visit,  with  the  Pastor,  every  family,  and  to 
minister,  as  may  be  found  necessary,  to  the  spiritual  needs 
of  each.  Often  the  whole  congregation  is  divided  into 
districts,  and  each  committed  to  the  special  charge  of 
certain  Elders,  who  should  keep  the  Session  and  Pastor 
informed  as  to  the  condition  of  all  under  their  care.    Be- 

*  CongregatioTial  Manual,  pp.  7,  21 ;  Congregationalism,  p.  188. 
f  Formula  of  Government,  ch.  iv.,  sect.  viii. 
14 


158  OF   THE   CHURCH   SESSION. 

sides  this  general  visitation,  there  must  always  be  more 
frequent  and  special  visits  made  to  (1)  the  baptized  mem- 
bers of  the  church,  especially  when  they  come  to  years 
of  discretion ;  *  (2)  those  persons  under  conviction  of  sin 
or  spiritual  distress  (Isa.  40:1);  (3)  the  sick  (James 
5  :  14-1 6)  ;t  (4)  the  afflicted  (James  1  :  27 ;  2  Cor.  1  : 
4). I  Sessions  are  to  tai^e  the  most  effectual  methods  to 
discountenance  all  ostentatious  and  expensive  parades  and 
the  old  custom  of  using  spirituous  liquors  at  funerals. § 
(5)  To  the  poor; II  (6)  the  tempted  (Gal.  6:1;  Eph.  5  : 
11);  (7)  those  guilty  of  oifence  and  under  suspension 
(Gal.  6:1;  Rom.  15  :  1 ;  2  Thess.  3 :  15;  2  Tim.  2  : 
25).1[ 

What  control  has  the  Session  over  the  worship? 

(See  pp.  74-95.) 

What  is  the  relation  of  the  Session  to  the  Sabbath- 
schools  ? 

This  question  was  overtured  to  the  Assembly  in 
1877,  which  replied  by  referring  to  the  deliverances  of 
the  two  branches  of  the  Church  recorded  in  "  Pres- 
byterian Digest,"  pp.  643-645,**  The  principal  state- 
ments there  made  are :  (1)  The  Sabbath -schools  are 
under  the  direction  of  the  Pastor  and  Session,  who 
must  direct  and  supervise  the  whole  work  of  the  spir- 
itual training  of  the  young.ff  (2)  The  pastoral  office  in- 
volves supervision  of  the  Sabbath-school,  and  the  Pastor 
should  frequently  be  present  and  aid  in  the  work,  and 
hold  special  meetings  for  children,  and  often  preach  to 
them.     (3)  The  Session  should  determine  the  studies  to 

*  Directory  for  Worship,  ch.  ix.  f  Ibid.,  cli.  xii. 

X  Ibid.,  cli.  xiii.  g  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  695.  ||  See  p.  47, 

^  Directory  for  Worship,  ch.  x.,  sects,  i.,  ii.,  iv. 
**  Minutes  G.  A.  1S77,  p.  516.  ft  See  pp.  106,  131. 


SABBATH-SCHOOLS.  159 

be  pursued,  the  text-books  and  lesson-papers  and  helps 
to  be  used,  and  should  carefully  examine  every  book 
admitted  into  the  library.  The  publications  of  our  own 
Board  are  specially  recommended.  (4)  The  Bible  should 
be  "  the  great  text-book."  The  "  Shorter  Catechism  " 
should  be  carefully  taught,  that  the  doctrine  and  polity 
of  the  Church  may  be  fixed  in  the  memory.  (5)  The 
statistical  reports  of  the  Sabbath -schools  should  be 
regularly  furnished  to  Presbytery  and  embodied  in 
the  Assembly's  Minutes.  (6)  It  is  desirable  that  the 
whole  congregation  should  be  connected  with  the 
Sabbath-schools,  as  teachers  or  scholars.  In  1878  the 
Assembly  issued  a  pastoral  letter  to  the  Sessions  on 
this  subject,  specially  urging  the  importance  of  sound 
doctrinal  teaching,  and  recommending  the  question- 
books,  papers.  Catechisms  and  the  standards  of  doctrine, 
polity  and  worship  published  by  the  Board  of  Publica- 
tion.* In  the  same  year  the  Assembly  "  recommended 
that  in  all  our  Sabbath-schools  superintendents  be  chosen 
or  appointed  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  church  Ses- 
sion ;"  "  that  the  Pastor  and  Session  visit,  encourage,  and 
if  need  be  work  in,  the  Sabbath-school."t  The  Session, 
having  the  supervision  of  the  music  of  the  church,J  have 
direction  concerning  that  of  the  Sabbath-school.§  In 
1878  the  Assembly  referred  to  the  favorable  consid- 
eration of  the  Board  of  Publication  an  overture  pray- 
ing "  to  initiate  measures  for  securing  unobjectionable 
hymns  and  the  choicest  music  for  Sabbath-school 
use."  II     Appendix,  p.  522. 

What  control  has  the  Session  over  the  collections  ? 

The  collections  for  the  poor  are  placed  in  the  hands  of 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  1878,  pp.  95-97.        f  Ihid.,  p.  26. 

X  See  p.  76.  §  See  p.  131.  ||  Minutes  Q.  A.  1878,  p.  30. 


160  OF  THE   CHURCH   SESSION. 

the  Deacons.*  In  regard  to  other  collections,  see  pp.  64 
and  109. 

What  power  has  the  Session  over  the  congregation  as 
such? 

It  can,  whenever  it  judges  it  advisable,  call  a  meeting 
of  the  congregation  and  propose  the  business  to  be  con- 
sidered. The  Moderator  of  the  Session  presides  in  virtue 
of  his  office.  His  decisions  can  only  be  overruled  by  an 
appeal  to  Presbytery,  to  which  he  is  responsible.  If  an 
Elder  preside,t  an  appeal  can  be  taken  to  the  Session, 
but  not  to  the  congregation.  |  The  Clerk  of  Session 
must  be  clerk  of  such  meeting,  and  shall  keep  a  full 
record  in  a  book  provided  for  that  purpose,  but  not  in 
the  sessional  record-book.  Appeals,  protests,  complaints 
from  the  action  of  such  a  meeting,  must  be  brought  be- 
fore the  Session,  and,  if  necessary,  to  the  higher  courts. § 
Concerning  other  congregational  meetings,  see  p.  39. 

When  must  the  Session  call  a  congregational  meeting? 

Whenever,  in  the  judgment  of  the  Session,  it  is  advisa- 
ble, or  "when  a  majority  of  tlie  persons  entitled  to  vote 
in  the  case  shall  by  petition  request  that  a  meeting  shall 
be  called."  II 

Can  the  Session  refuse  to  call  such  meetings  ? 

It  must  act  according  to  its  judgment,  subject  in  this 
as  in  all  things  to  Presbytery.  The  matter  may  come 
before  Presbytery  on  review  or  by  petition  or  complaint 
from  members  of  the  congregation.^ 

For  what  purposes  may  it  call  congregational  meetings? 

(1)  To  elect  Elders  and  Deacons.**     The  Session  may 

*  See  pp.  6:^  and  70.  f  See  p.  126. 

:j:  Manual  of  Presbyterian  Law  and  Usage,  pp.  40,  41. 

I  Ihid.,  pp.  38,  39,  40.  ||  Form  of  Government,  ch.  xv.,  sect.  i. 

1[  Ibid.,  ch.  XV.,  sect.  i. ;  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  338,  403. 

**  Form  of  Goiwrnment,  ch.  xiii.,  sect.  ii. 


SESSION    AND    CONGFtEGATION.  161 

nominate  candidates,  but  this  must  not  interfere  with  the 
liberty  of  choice.  Elders  can  only  be  elected  at  a  meeting 
called  by  the  Session  or  by  a  higher  judicatory.*  Only 
communicants  can  vote.f 

(2)  To  elect  a  Pastor.  |  All  communicants  can  vote, 
and  also  non-communicants  who  contribute  to  the  support 
of  the  Pastor,  except  where  the  charter  of  the  church  or  the 
usage  of  the  congregation  confines  the  right  of  voting  to 
the  communicants.!  A  Minister  of  the  Presbytery  shall 
preside,  or,  if  very  inconvenient  to  obtain  one,  a  member 
of  the  Session  may  do  so.  ||  If  the  meeting  proceed  con- 
trary to  the  judgment  of  Session,  appeal  may  be  made  to 
the  Presbytery;  or  the  congregation,  with  the  concurrence 
of  Session,  may  refer  the  matter  to  Presbytery  for  advice 
or  final  decision.^ 

^^3  To  consider  the  desire  of  the  Pastor  to  resign  his 
charge.  This  may  be  at  the  Pastor's  request  that  the 
congregation  join  him  in  a  petition  to  Presbytery,  or  to 
appoint  commissioners  to  answer  the  citation  of  Presby- 
tery which  is  about  to  consider  the  Pastor's  resignation. 
Or  such  a  meeting  may  be  called  by  the  Session  on  its 
own  motion  or  when  properly  requested  to  do  so,  when 
the  congregation  shall  have  labored  under  such  griev- 
ances as  that  they  shall  desire  to  be  released  from  their 
Pastor.** 

(4)  For  anything  pertaining  to  the  spiritual  interests 
of  the  church.  Communicants  have  the  right  to  vote, 
and  contributors  whenever  money-matters  are  involved, 

*  Presbyterian  DigeM,  pp.  337,  338.  f  See  p.  56. 

X  Form  of  Government,  ch.  xv.,  sect.  i.  See  p.  335. 
§  Ibid.,  ch.  XV.,  sect.  iv. ;  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  404,  405. 
II  See  p.  126. 

^  Manual  of  Law  and  Usage,  p.  41 ;  Hook  of  Discipline,  cli.  vii.,  sect 
ii.,  sub-sect.  iii.  **  See  p.  374.     Form  of  Government,  ch.  xvii. 

14*  L 


J(J2  OF   THE    CHUECH    SESSION. 

unless  the  charter  or  usage  of  the  congregation  confine 
the  right  to  communicants.* 

What  is  the  sixth  power  of  Session  mentioned  ? 

"And  to  appoint  delegates  to  the  higher  judicatories  of 
the  Church;^'  that  is,  to  the  Presbytery  and  Synod.f 
Those  to  the  General  Assembly  are  appointed  by  the 
Presbyteries.  I  The  Pastors  and  Ministers  are  by  or- 
djuation  members  of  Presbytery  and  Synod.  The 
Session  selects  an  Elder  as  delegate  to  attend  each 
meeting  of  these  higher  courts.  In  regard  to  dele- 
gates to  special  or  adjourned  meetings  of  these  judi- 
catories, see  p.  179.     (See  also  p.  238.) 

Is  it  optional  with  the  Session  to  appoint  delegates  ? 

No ;  it  is  a  duty.  The  people  have  a  right  to  be  re])- 
resented  in  all  the  courts  of  the  Church,  §  which  need 
the  presence  of  the  Eldei-s,  and  which  should  censure  the 
Session  if  they  have  neglected  to  make  the  appointment, 
or  require  the  Session  to  censure  the  delegate  for  his  ne- 
glect of  duty,  in  lateness,  in  withdrawing  without  leave 
or  in  absence.  The  O.  S.  Assembly  in  1859  reproved  a 
Synod  because  "the  Ruling  Elders  were  not  called  upon 
for  reasons  of  absence,  as  in  the  case  of  Teaching  Elders."  || 
In  1840  the  N.  S.  Assembly  found  fault  with  a  Synod  for 
"censuring"  (an  Elder)  "at  their  bar  in  away  competent  in 
any  circumstances  only  to  the  Session  of  the  church,  to 
which  he  was  primarily  amenable." T[ 

Whom  may  the  Session  appoint  as  delegate  ? 

Any  of  the  Elders,  members  of  its  own  body. 
Those  churches  which  have  adopted  the  "term-elder- 

*  Manual  of  Presbyterian  Law  and  Usage,  p.  39. 

•)-  Form  of  Government,  ch.  x.,  sect.  ii. ;  ch.  xi.,  sect.  i. 

t  Ibid.,  ch.  xii.,  sect.  ii.  ?  Ibid.,  ch.  x.,  sect,  iii, 

II  Pre>^bytman  Diges^t,  p.  131.  H  Tbld.,  p.  192. 


MEETINGS.  163 

ship"  may  appoint  an  Elder  whose  term  of  service  has 
expired.* 

Vn.  Who  has  power  to  convene  the  Session  ? 

"The  Pastoi-  has  power  to  convene  the  Session  when  \e 
may  judge  it  requisite,  and  he  shall  always  convene  them 
when  requested  to  do  so  by  any  two  of  the  Elders.  The 
Session  shall  also  convene  when  directed  to  do  so  by  the 
Presbytery"  The  Session  may  meet  according  to  its 
adjournment.f 

Are  the  meetings  of  Session  open  or  private  ? 

All  the  judicatories  of  the  Church  hold  open  meetings, 
yet  they  "  have  a  right  to  sit  in  private  on  business  which 
in  their  judgment  ought  not  to  be  matter  of  public  spec- 
ulation." "  Besides  the  right  to  sit  judicially  in  private," 
etc.  J  In  1879  the  Assembly  was  requested  to  order  that 
"in  all  cases  of  accusation  against  a  Minister  or  Ruling 
Elder,  the  Presbytery  "  (or  Session)  "consider  carefully  at 
the  opening  of  the  case  the  question  of  the  propriety  of 
exercising  its  constitutional  right  to  sit  with  closed  doors, 
admitting,  besides  the  witnesses  and  parties  necessarily 
present,  only  such  persons  as  they  may  deem  necessary  to 
give  proper  publicity  to  the  proceedings."  No  action  was 
taken  further  than  to  refer  the  paper  to  the  favorable  con- 
sideration of  the  committee  to  revise  our  "Book  of  Dis- 
cipline." §  But  the  next  year  an  overture  was  presented 
in  regard  to  the  disorder  often  occasioned  at  ecclesiastical 
trials  by  the  presence  of  large  numbers  of  spectators,  and 
it  was  resolved  "that  the  General  Assembly  recommend 
to  its  subordinate  judicatories  that,  bef  jre  entering  upon 

*  Form  of  Government,  ch.  xiii.,  sect.  viii. 
t  General  Rules  for  Judicatories,  i.     See  p.  490. 
X  Ibid.,  xxxviii.  and  xxxix. 
§  Mi7iutes  G.  A.  1879,  p.  615. 


164  OF   THE    CHURCH   SESSION. 

judicial  process,  they  carefully  determine  what  degree  of 
privacy  or  publicity  in  the  proceedings  would  be  most 
conducive  to  the  ends  of  justice,  the  peace  of  the  Church 
and  the  spiritual  benefit  of  the  person  tried."* 

What  is  an  interlocutory  meeting  ? 

"All  judicatories  have  a  right  to  hold  what  are  com- 
monly called  '  interlocutory  meetings,'  in  which  members 
freely  converse  together,  without  the  formalities  which 
are  usually  necessary  in  judicial  proceedings."  f 

Can  a  Session  invite  a  Minister  or  Elder  to  sit  as  a  cor- 
responding member  ? 

The  constitution  makes  no  provision  for  corresponding 
members  in  Session,  as  it  does  for  them  in  the  Presby- 
tery and  Synod.J  The  N.  S.  Assembly  in  1851  decided 
that  even  a  Minister  of  the  same  Presbytery  or  Synod 
could  not  be  invited  to  sit  in  Session  as  a  correspond- 
ing member,  nor  could  he  be  assigned  as  counsel  to  an 
accused  person. §  A  retired  Elder,  or  one  whose  term 
has  expired,  has  no  jurisdiction  until  re-elected  and  in- 
stalled. He  may  of  course  be  present  at  any  open  meet- 
ing, give  advice  when  asked,  but  can  have  no  right  to 
speak  on  resolutions  or  vote  or  act  as  counsel. || 

VIII.  May  the  Session  appoint  a  Clerk  ? 

"  Every  judicatory  shall  choose  a  Clerk  to  record  their 
transactions,  whose  continuance  shall  be  during  pleasure. 
It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Clerk,  besides  recording  the 
transactions,  to  preserve  the  records  carefully,  and  to 
grant  extracts  from  them  whenever  properly  required."  ^ 

*  3nnutes  G.  A.  1SS9,  p.  23.     See  p.  49C. 

t  General  Rules  for  Judicatories,  xxxix.  %  See  pp.  230,  238. 

§  Presbyterian  Diyest,  p.  124. 

II  Book  of  Discipline,  eh.  iv.,  sect.  xxi. 

T[  For7n  of  Government,  ch.  xx. 


CLERK.  165 

Who  is  the  Clerk  of  Session  ? 

The  Session  may  appoint  its  own  Clerk.  In  1861  the 
the  N.  S.  i\ssembly  decided  that  the  Clerk  need  not  be 
a  member  of  the  judicatory  ;  any  convenient  person  may 
be  selected.*  This  had  been  in  1793  decided  to  be  proper 
in  regard  to  the  Clerk  of  the  General  Assembly.f  It  is 
evident  that  the  Clerk  should  be  under  the  jurisdiction 
or  authority  of  the  court,  as  he  has  charge  of  the  records. 
In  small  Sessions  the  Pastor  frequently  acts  as  Moder- 
ator and  Clerk;  there  is  no  impropriety  in  this.  In 
larger  Sessions  an  Elder  usually  is  appointed.  In  ju- 
dicial business,  when  considerable  testimony  is  to  be  re- 
corded, it  may  be  desirable,  as  it  is  allowable,  to  appoint 
a  temporary  clerk,  as  in  the  higher  courts. 

What  are  the  duties  of  the  Clerk  ? 

(1)  ''Every  Session  shall  keep  a  fair  i^ecord  of  its  pro- 
ceedings, which  record  shall  he  at  least  once  every  year  sub- 
mitted to  the  inspection  of  the  Presbytery."  (2)  The  Clerk 
shall  "  preserve  the  records  carefully."  This  includes  the 
care  of  all  the  papers  and  books  pertaining  to  the  business 
of  Session  and  the  registers  referred  to  on  p.  169 ;  (3) 
he  shall  "  grant  extracts  from  the  records  whenever  prop- 
erly required,"  (4)  make  authenticated  copies  of  judicial 
cases  when  these  are  needed,  and  prepare  all  necessary 
papers  in  cases  of  reference,  appeal  or  complaint;  (5) 
he  shall  issue  certificates  and  citations  by  order  of 
Session ;  (6)  he  shall  prepare  the  statistical  reports  for 
Presbytery;  (7)  he  shall  keep  a  fair  record  of  the  pro- 
ceedings of  all  congregational  meetings  called  by  the 
Session.! 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  461.  f  Ibid.,  p.  211. 

X  Form  of  Oovernment,  ch.  xx. ;  Book  of  Discipline,  ch.  vi.,  sect. 
X. :  ch.  vii. 


168  OF   THE   CHURCH   SESSION. 

Should  the  record  be  full? 

The  record  should  be  full,  especially  in  judicial  cases, 
including  the  testimony  of  witnesses.  "  The  reasons  for 
all  decisions,  except  on  questions  of  order,  shall  be  re- 
corded at  length,  that  the  record  may  exhibit  everything 
which  had  an  influence  on  the  judgment  of  the  court."* 
In  1859  the  O.  S.  Assembly  decided  that  testimony  duly 
authenticated  and  on  file,  cai'efully  preserved,  may  be 
considered  a  part  of  the  record.  But  in  1841  the  O.  S. 
Assembly  was  about  to  remit  a  case,  because  a  paper  ad- 
mitted to  be  a  part  of  it  was  not  engrossed  on  the  rec- 
ords :  the  paper  was,  however,  read,  and  the  case  decided. 
And  the  N.  S.  Assembly  in  1862  declared  that  the  tes- 
timony of  witnesses  must  be  recorded  "  on  the  book  of 
permanent  records." f     Files  are  liable  to  be  lost. 

How  shall  extracts  of  the  record  given  by  the  Clerk  be 
regarded  ? 

They  should  be  certified  by  him  as  true  copies  of  the 
record,  and  "  such  extracts,  under  the  hand  of  the  Clerk, 
shall  be  considered  as  authentic  vouchers  of  the  fact 
which  they  declare,  in  any  ecclesiastical  judicatory,  and 
to  every  part  of  the  Ciiurch."|  If  they  have  been 
printed  and  are  certified  by  the  Clerk,  they  shall  be  con- 
sidered as  authentic,  and  the  distribution  of  the  printed 
form  among  the  members  of  the  higher  court  in  a  judi- 
cial case  may,  by  mutual  consent,  be  accepted  in  place  of 
the  reading  of  the  record  in  whole  or  in  part.§ 

To  whom  may  the  Clerk  give  extracts  ? 

The  records  are  the  property  of  the  Session,  and  the 

*  Book  of  Discipline,  ch.  iv.,  sect,  xxiii.;  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp. 
132,  515,  537.  f  ^l>"i;  PP-  515,  516. 

X  Form,  of  Government,  cli.  xx. 
g  Minutes  O.  A.  1S7S,  p.  53.     See  p.  180. 


RECORDS.  167 

extracts  can  only  be  given  by  the  order  of  Session.  "  The 
parties"  in  a  judicial  case  "shall  be  allowed  copies  of  the 
whole  proceedings,  at  their  own  expense,  if  they  demand 
them."*  In  1879  the  Assembly  was  asked  if  "a  Min- 
ister once  suspended,  but  afterward  restored,  may  de- 
mand that  the  records  in  his  case  be  closed  to  inspection 
or  transcript,  when  required  by  subsequent  judicial  pro- 
ceedings by  his  own  Presbytery?"  The  reply  given 
was :  "  The  records  of  our  church  courts  are  public,  and 
not  private,  documents,  and  therefore  no  one  who  has 
been  under  discipline  can  demand  that  anything  per- 
taining to  his  case  shall  be  closed  to  inspection  or  trans- 
cript. Yet  a  wise  Christian  charity  would  suggest  that 
when  the  end  of  discipline  in  the  restoration  of  an  of- 
fender has  been  reached,  no  further  publicity,  if  possi- 
ble, should  be  given  to  the  matter."  f 

How  often  must  the  records  be  submitted  to  Presbytery  ? 

At  least  once  each  year.  "  And  if  any  lower  judica- 
tory shall  omit  to  send  uj)  its  records  for  this  purpose, 
the  higher  may  issue  an  order  to  produce  them,  either 
immediately  or  at  a  particular  time  as  circumstances  may 
require."!  Copies  of  the  record,  attested,  were  accepted 
in  1790  in  place  of  the  originals,  when  it  was  inconve- 
nient to  send  the  books.  The  O,  S.  Assembly  in  1840 
rescinded  the  permission,  and  in  1847  refused  to  receive 
attested  copies  in  place  of  the  original  records. §  So  did 
the  Assembly  in  1878. || 

In  what  respects  must  the  records  be  examined  ? 

"■  In  reviewing  the  records  of  an  inferior  judicatory 

*  Book  of  Discipline,  ch.  iv.,  sect.  xvi. 
t  3Iinules  G.  A.  1879,  p.  586. 

I  Biiok  of  Discijdine,  ch.  vii.,  sect,  i.,  sub-sect.  i. ;  Presbyterian  Di- 
gest, p.  534.  §  Ibid.,  p  536.  ||  Minutes  G.  A.  1S7S,  p.  52. 


168  OF  THE   CHURCH   SESSION. 

it  is  proper  to  examine,  first,  whether  the  proceedings 
have  been  constitutional  and  regular;  secondly,  whether 
they  have  been  wise,  equitable  and  for  the  edification  of 
the  Church ;  thirdly,  whether  they  have  been  correctly 
recorded."  If  everything  is  satisfactory,  the  records  are 
by  order  of  Presbytery  approved  as  far  as  Avritten,  and 
signed  by  the  Moderator.  If  anything  is  found  out  of 
order,  the  minutes  are  approved  with  exceptions  "by 
simply  recording  on  its  own  (the  Presbytery's)  minutes 
the  animadversion  or  censure  which  it  may  think  proper 
to  pass  on  records  under  review,  and  also  by  making  an 
entry  of  the  same  in  the  book  reviewed.  But  it  may 
be  that  in  the  course  of  review,  cases  of  irregular  pro- 
ceedings may  be  found  so  disreputable  and  injurious  as 
to  demand  the  interference  of  the  superior  judicatory. 
In  cases  of  this  kind  the  inferior  judicatory  may  be 
required  to  review  and  correct  its  proceedings."* 

What  effect  has  the  approval  of  the  records? 

After  approval  by  Presbytery  the  records  cannot 
be  altered  or  annulled  by  the  Session.  If  an  error  is 
found,  it  can  be  corrected  only  "  by  an  application  to  the 
highest  court  that  has  endorsed  the  mistake."  So  the 
N.  S.  Assembly  decided  in  1862.t  In  1878  the  Assem- 
bly disapproved  of  a  lower  court  correcting  its  record  after 
the  endorsement  of  a  higher.  In  1880  a  Synod  received 
permission  to  correct  its  records.  J  The  O.  S.  Assembly 
in  1841  sustained  the  decision  of  the  Moderator  that  the 
records  of  a  lower  court  having  been  approved,  the  ap- 
proval cannot  be  amended,  being  a  minute  recording  a 
fact,  but  by  a  unanimous  vote  of  the  liouse.§ 

*  Book  of  Discipline,  ch.  vii.,  sect,  i.,  sub-sects,  ii.  and  iii.   See  p.  221. 
t  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  133.        t  Minutes  G.  A.  1S7S,  p.  52 ;  18S0, 
p.  81.  ?  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  535. 


REPORTS.  169 

In  1879  the  Assembly  declared  that  "  the  constituted 
right  of  a})peal  '  either  from  a  part  of  the  proceedings 
of  a  judicatory  or  from  a  definite  sentence/  and  the 
right  of  complaint  '  respecting  a  decision  by  an  inferior 
judicatory/  '  either  before  its  rising  or  within  ten  days 
thereafter/  cannot  be  in  any  way  aifected  by  the  ap- 
proval of  the  minutes  of  the  judicatory  against  the 
action  of  which  the  appeal  or  complaint  may  be 
taken."  * 

IX.  What  registers  must  the  Session  keep  ?  . 

"/<!  is  impm^tant  that  every  Session  keep  a  fair  register 
of  marriages ;  of  baptisms,  with  the  time  of  the  birth  of 
the  individuals  baptized;  of  persons  admitted  to  the  Lord's 
table;  and  of  the  deaths,  and  other  removals  of  church 
members;"  of  those  under  church  discipline;!  of  absent 
members  (reserved  list)|  and  of  baptized  members.  In 
1881  the  Assembly  directed  "church  Sessions  to  exercise 
greater  care  in  preserving  accurate  rolls  of  their  baptized 
children  who  are  not  communicants."  §  These  registers 
are  kept  by  the  Pastor  or  Clerk.     Appendix,  p.  523. 

What  reports  must  the  Session  prepare  ? 

(1)  An  annual  narrative  of  the  state  of  religion,  to  be 
presented  to  Presbytery,  generally  at  the  spring  stated 
meeting ;  (2)  a  similar  narrative  to  be  presented  at  the 
annual  meeting  of  Synod,  which  is  generally  held  in 
the  autumn.  These  should  each  be  the  narrative  for  a 
whole  year,  the  one  of  the  presbyterial  year,  and  the  other 
of  tlie  synodical  year,  the  Board  of  Publication  to  furnish 
blanks.ll  (3)  The  statistical  report  to  Presbytery,  to  be 
transmitted  to  the  General  Assembly.  This  should  be  pre- 

*  3Iinutes  O.  A.  1879,  p.  613. 

f  Directory  for  Worship,  ch.  x.,  sect.  ii.  t  See  p.  150. 

§  iMinules  G.  A.  1S81,  p.  548.  11  Ibid.,  p.  591. 

15 


170  OF  THE   CHURCH  SESSION. 

sented  at  the  spring  meeting,  and  should  include — num- 
bers of  Elders  and  Deacons,  number  added  on  examination 
and  on  certificate,  whole  number  of  communicants,  adult 
baptisms,  infant  baptisms.  Sabbath-school  membership, 
the  amount  contributed  to  the  eight  causes  recommended 
by  the  General  Assembly,  to  the  General  Assembly's  ex- 
penses, to  congregational  purposes  and  to  miscellaneous 
objects.  These  reports  should  all  be  formally  adopted 
by  the  Session,  and  engrossed  on  the  records  as  part  of 
the  minutes  of  Session.  This  is  implied  in  the  recom- 
mendation of  the  Assembly  to  Presbyteries  and  Synods 
in  1870.*  In  1869  the  N.  S.  Assembly  ordered  that 
the  statistical  report  should  contain  only  the  actual  mem- 
bership— that  the  utmost  care  should  be  taken  to  clear 
the  register  of  all  deceased,  dismissed  and  lost  members.f 
The  O.  S.  Assembly  in  1856  also  ordered  the  omission 
of  all  absent  members  Mdiose  residences  are  unknown. 
Their  names  should  be  put  on  a  reserve  list,  and  not 
counted  in  the  statistical  report.^  This  was  ratified  in 
1872.§ 

How  must  the  meetings  of  Session  be  opened  and 
closed  ? 

Tliey  should  always  be  opened  and  closed  with  prayer. 
This  fact  should  be  stated  on  the  records.]]  "  While  we 
have  no  law  requiring  the  closing  of  the  sessions  of  the 
church  Session  with  prayer,  yet  by  the  deliverances  of 
the  past  General  Assemblies  the  omission  to  close  any 
session  of  any  of  the  judicatories  of  the  Church  with 
prayer  has  been  pronounced  out  of  harmony  with  the 
'Form  of  Government;'    but  a  recess  does  not  imply 

*  Pres^byterian  Digest,  p.  177.  f  l^^id.,  p.  133. 

t  Ibid.,  p.  627.  ?  Ibid.,  p.  628.     See  pp.  148-150. 

II  Ibid.,  p.  194. 


BOND    OF    UNION.  171 

the  close  of  a  Session."  *  Informal  meetings,  however, 
are  often  held.f 

What  is  the  lowest  judicatory  of  other  churches  called? 

Neither  the  Episcopal  nor  the  Congregational  Church 
has  any  judicatory  in  the  particular  church.  In  the  former 
the  Priest  exercises  discipline,  and  in  the  latter  the  church 
itself,  though  often  according  to  the  advice  of  a  Prudential 
Committee.  In  regard  to  the  Methodist  Church  see  p. 
156.  In  the  Lutheran  Church  the  church  Council  cor- 
responds with  our  Session,  as  does  the  Consistory  in  the 
Reformed  (Dutch)  Church. 


CHAPTEK  X. 

OF   THE   PEESBYTERY. 


I  Is  it  important  that  the  separate  congregations  should 
have  some  bond  of  union? 

Christ  regarded  it  important  (John  10  :  16),  and  he 
prayed  for  it  (John  17  :  20,  21).  He  did  not  expect  nor 
aim  to  bring  all  his  sheep  into  one  flock,  nor  did  he  pray 
that  all  who  should  believe  on  him  should  be  in  one  place 
on  earth,  but  he  labored  and  prayed  that  all  might  be  under 
one  Shepherd,  and  one  with  him  and  with  each  other,  in 
love  and  under  government.  The  Apostles  taught  the 
necessity  of  the  unity  of  the  churches,  their  mutual  de- 
pendence, and  the  subjection  of  all  to  the  Epistles,  whether 
general  or  addressed  to  the  churches  in  certain  cities.  "  The 
church  of  Jerusalem  consisted  of  more  than  one  (congrega- 

*  Form  of  Government,  ch.  x.,  sect.  xi. ;  ch.  xi.,  sect.  v. ;  and  ch.  xii., 
sect.  viii. ;  Minutes  G.  A.  1877,  p  575.  t  See  p.  126. 


172  OF   THE   PRESBYTERY. 

tiou),  as  is  manifest  both  before  and  after  the  dispersion, 
from  Acts  6:1,  Q;  9  :  31 ;  21  :  20 ;  2  :  41,  46,  47 ;  and 
4  :  4.  These  congregations  were  under  one  presbyterial 
government^  proved  from  Acts  15  :  4;  11  :  22,  30;  21  : 
17,  18  ;  6  :  That  the  church  of  Ephesus  had  more  con- 
gregations than  one,  under  a  presbyterial  government, 
appears  from  Acts  19  :  18,  19,  20;  1  Cor.  16  :  8,  9,  19, 
compared  with  Acts  18  :  19,  24,  26 ;  20  :  17,  18,  25,  28, 
30,  31,  36,  37 ;  Rev.  2  :  1-6."  * 

All  branches  of  the  Christian  Church  hav^e  felt  the 
necessity,  and  have  established  some  bond  of  union  for 
mutual  counsel  and  assistance. 

What  Is  the  first  object  of  such  a  union  ? 

"To  preserve  soundness  of  doctrine."  Individual  mem- 
bers and  churches  often  adopt  errors,  and  if  isolated  these 
errors  become  confirmed  and  lead  to  other  perversions  of 
truth.  If  each  church  may  adopt  or  change  its  creed  at 
pleasure,  there  can  be  no  uniformity  of  faith  nor  certainty 
of  truth.  If,  however,  churches  are  bound  together  by  a 
definite  form  of  government,  their  mutual  oversight  and 
zeal  for  the  truth  will  detect  errors,  repudiate  heresies, 
define  and  defend  sound  doctrine  and  silence  false 
teachers. 

What  is  the  second  object  of  this  union  ? 

"To  preserve  regularity  of  discipline."  Uniformity  of 
discipline  is  very  important.  What  one  church  alloAv s  ought 
not  to  be  condemned  by  another.  There  should  be  the 
same  terms  of  communion,  the  same  rules  for  judging  the 
outward  conduct  of  members,  and  the  same  methods  of 
convicting  and  restoring  offenders.  There  should  be  some 
means  of  correcting  the  misajiplication  of  discipline.  This 
can  only  be  accomplished  by  a  real  union. 

*  Form  of  Government,  ch.  x.,  sect,  i.,  note. 


BOND    OF    UNION.  173 

Wlat  is  the  third  object  of  this  union  ? 

"  To  enter  into  common  measures  for  'promoting  knowledge 
and  religion,  and  for  preventing  infidelity,  error  and  im- 
morality," such  as  an  educated  ministry,  religious  publi- 
cations, extension  of  the  Church  at  home  and  abroad, 
general  education  and  morality.  The  churches  have  a 
responsibility  concerning  not  only  their  own  members, 
but  also  the  condition  of  the  world  without,  in  which 
different  forms  of  infidelity  and  immorality  are  constantly 
reappearing.  To  oppose  these  the  individual  churches  can 
do  but  little,  and  their  efforts  would  often  prove  fruit- 
less, because  conflicting.  Concerted  action  and  a  united 
testimony  for  the  truth  and  against  errors  and  iniquity 
•accomplish  much. 

Are  these  objects  accomplished  by  presbyterial  and  synod- 
ical  assemblies  ? 

'^ Hence  arise  the  impor'taTice  and  usefulness  of  presbyte- 
rial and  synodical  assemblies."  For  any  errors  in  doctrine 
or  irregularities  in  discipline  in  particular  churches  are 
discovered  and  corrected  by  the  higher  courts;  which, 
having  a  general  supervision,  can  also  determine  all 
matters  concerning  the  churches  and  the  influence  to 
be  exerted  on  the  community  at  large.* 

What  is  the  bond  of  union  in  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church? 

The  Pope — the  recognition  of  and  submission  to  the 
Pope  as  the  infallible  head  of  the  Church,  the  vicegerent 
of  Christ  on  earth,  who  claims  absolute  authority,  temporal 
and  spiritual.  The  scriptural  warrant  for  this  is  said  to 
be  Christ's  charge  to  Peter :  "  Thou  art  Peter,  and  upon 
this  rock  I  will  build  my  Church;"  "and  I  will  give  unto 
thee  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven;  and  whatso- 
*  Book  of  Discipline,  ch.  vii. 
15  * 


174  OF   THE   PRESBYTERY. 

ever  thou  shalt  bind  on  earth,  shall  be  bound  in  heaven, 
and  whatsoever  thou  shalt  loose  on  earth  shalt  be  loosed 
in  heaven"  (Matt.  16  :  18,  19).  But  in  Eph.  2  :  20,  21, 
Rev.  21  :  14;  1  Cor.  3  :  11,  and  elsewhere,  the  Church  is 
said  to  be  built  equally  on  all  the  Apostles,  "Jesus  Christ 
himself  being  the  chief  corner-stone."  In  Matt.  18  :  18 
the  same  power  of  the  keys,  to  bind  and  loose,  is  given 
alike  to  all  the  Twelve.  And  in  no  case  does  Peter  assume 
superiority  over  the  Apostles  in  the  Christian  Church.  He 
did  not  even  preside  over  the  church  at  Jerusalem,  nor 
over  the  Presbytery  or  Synod  described  in  Acts  15. 

What  is  the  bond  of  union  in  the  Episcopal  Church  ? 

Bishops,  as  the  successors  of  the  Apostles,  having 
authority,  each  over  the  other  clergy,  the  laity  and  the 
churches  in  his  separate  diocese,  and  as  a  body  over  the 
whole  Church.  The  scriptural  authority  cited  is  the 
calling  of  the  Apostles  (Luke  6  :  13),  the  charge  given 
to  them  (Matt.  28  :  19),  the  authority  exercised  by  them 
(Acts  20  :  17),  and  the  appointment  of  successors  (Acts 
1  :  16-26).  The  evident  answer  to  this  is — (1)  that  the 
apostolate  was  designed  to  be  a  temporary  office;  *  (2)  that 
at  the  time  Christ  gave  his  charge  to  the  Apostles  they 
represented  the  whole  Church,  and  his  charge  was  there- 
fore to  the  Church;  the  authority  he  then  gave  was  to  be 
exercised  for  a  time  by  these  extraordinary  officers,  but 
permanently  by  the  regular  officers  and  courts  of  the 
Church;  (3)  that  while  the  Apostles  did  possess  uni- 
versal and  absolute  authority  for  the  organization  of  tlie 
Christian  Church,  it  was  because  of  their  peculiar  relation 
to  Christ,  their  inspiration  and  their  miraculous  gifts,  which 
were  only  temporary.  But  the  powers  needed  permanent- 
ly in  the  Church  they  exercised  only  together  with  the 
*  See  p.  42. 


BOND   OF   UNION   IN   OTHER   CHURCHES.  175 

jiermanent  officers  and  courts.  (4)  They  had  no  success- 
ors. Matthias  was  not  a  successor  of  Judas,  but  was  sub- 
stituted for  that  false  Apostle.  Paul,  as  "one  born  out 
of  due  time,"  was  not  a  successor  to  any,  but  made  the 
Apostle  to  the  Gentiles  (1  Cor.  15  :  8).  Their  peculiar 
gifts  have  ceased.*  No  provision  for  successors  was  made 
in  the  Scriptures,  nor  were  qualifications  given.  Nor,  in 
fact,  have  any  since  exercised  the  authority  or  performed 
the  work  of  Apostles  as  described  in  the  Scriptures. 

What  is  the  bond  of  union  in  the  Methodist  churches  ? 

In  the  Methodist  Church  the  bond  of  union  is  found 
in  the  Conferences,  General,  Annual  and  Quarterly .f 

What  is  the  bond  of  union  in  the  Congregational 
Church? 

In  the  Congregational  Church  fellowship  between  in- 
dividual churches  is  expressed  by  Councils,  which  are 
called  in  cases  of  importance  or  difficulty  for  sympathy, 
advice  and  co-operation.  J  The  church  calling  the  Coun- 
cil may  invite  as  many  or  as  few  churches  as  it  deems  best, 
and  may  adopt  or  reject  the  advice  given.  Some  Congre- 
gational churches  are  consociated;  that  is,  they  mutually 
agree  to  call  upon  those  thus  associated  whenever  any 
matter  of  importance  is  presented  to  any  one  church. 
These  Consociations,  though  resembling  Presbyteries, 
possess  no  power  nor  supervision.  The  advice  given 
should  be  followed  as  long  as  the  church  remains  in 
the  Consociation ;  the  right  to  withdraw  at  any  moment 
is  recognized. 

IL  Of  whom  does  the  Presbytery  consist  ? 

''A  Presbytery  consists  of  aU  the  Ministers,  in  number 
not  less  than  five,  and  one  Ruling  Elder  from  each  con- 

*  See  p.  43.  f  Discipline,  1880,  ^  63-101. 

X  Congregational  Manual,  pp.  10,  20 ;  Congregationalism,  p.  3. 


176  OF   THE    PRESBYTERY. 

gregation,  rvithin  a  certain  district^'  It  may  be  formed 
"without  any  organized  churches,  but  must  have  a  definite 
territory.*  All  churches  and  missionary  operations  with- 
in the  bounds  of  the  Presbytery  must  be  under  its  care 
and  government.  This  is  true  also  in  regard  to  Minis- 
ters. Yet  Ministers  coming  within  the  bounds  of  a 
Presbytery  can  become  members  only  by  regular  letters 
of  dismissal  from  the  Presbyteries  to  which  they  for- 
merly belonged.  If  a  Minister  reside  within  one  Pres- 
bytery and  labor  in  another,  he  should  unite  with  the 
latter.  The  Presbytery  must  judge  in  each  case  if 
there  be  sufficient  cause  to  justify  the  membership  of 
those  who  live  beyond  its  geographical  limits.  In  1870 
and  1872  the  Assembly  declared  that  "  Ministers  with- 
out charge  are  required  to  unite  with  that  Presbytery 
within  the  geographical  limits  of  which  they  ordinarily 
reside  or  are  nearest  to,  and  to  which  they  shall  be  amen- 
able for  the  })roper  discharge  of  their  ordination  engage- 
ments." f     Appendix,  p.  523. 

Can  two  Presbyteries  occupy  the  same  ground  ? 

No.  It  would  be  contrary  both  to  the  letter  and  spirit 
of  our  constitution  and  the  teaching  of  the  word  of  God. 
In  1873  the  Assembly  decided  that  no  distinction  can  be 
made  "of  race  or  color  or  language  to  interfere  with 
the  unity  and  simplicity  of  that  oversight  which  the 
constitution  of  this  Church  requires."! 

What  are  " elect! ve-afiinity"  courts? 

"Judicatories  not  bounded  by  geographical  limits,  but 
having  a  chief  regard  in  their  erection  to  diversities  of 
doctrinal  belief  and  of  ecclesiastical  polity."  These  are 
inconsistent  with  our  "  Form  of  Church  Government," 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  135.  f  IbiJ.,  pp.  136,  137. 

t  Ibid.,  pp.  137,  138. 


MEMBERS    OF    PRESBYTERY.  177 

and  would  "  open  a  wide  door  for  mischiefs  and  abuses 
of  the  most  serious  kind,"  destroying  the  unity  of  the 
Church,  purity  of  doctrine,  uniformity  of  discipline  and 
the  peace  of  the  churches.* 

May  a  Presbytery  consist  of  less  than  five  Ministers  ? 

Five  are  necessary  even  on  missionary  ground  where 
four  or  more  churches  have  been  organized.*  In  1877 
a  delegate  was  received  by  the  Assembly  whose  commis- 
sion was  regular  in  form,  but  his  Presbytery  had  fallen 
below  the  constitutional  number  of  five  Ministers.  The 
Assembly  resolved  that  the  constitution  "does  not  con- 
template the  dissolution  of  Presbyteries  previously  organ- 
ized in  remote  and  isolated  regions  with  less  than  five  mem- 
bers;" "that  the  General  Assembly  is  disposed  to  excuse 
remote  and  isolated  Presbyteries  from  strict  compliance 
with  certain  general  rules,  when  it  shall  appear  that  every 
reasonable  effort  has  been  made  to  comply  with  said  rules.^f 

Are  Ministers  without  charge  members  of  Presbytery  ? 

In  Scotland  they  are  under  the  care  of  Presbytery,  are 
responsible  to  it,  have  a  seat,  and  may  speak  on  any  res- 
olution, but  have  no  vote. 

"According  to  the  constitution  of  our  Church,  Minis- 
ters, as  such,  whether  with  or  without  charge,  are  of 
equal  power  and  privilege.  If  the  defection  of  any 
Minister  from  the  duties  implied  in  his  ordination  vows 
is  serious  enough  to  disfranchise  him,  it  is  sufficiently  se- 
rious to  call  for  the  orderly  exercise  of  discipline."  This 
is  the  language  of  the  O.  S.  Assembly  of  1859 ;  it  ex- 
pressed the  decision  of  the  Assemblies  of  1802,  1816  and 
1835.t 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  135. 
t  Ibid.,  p.  143 ;  Minutes  O.  A.  1877,  pp.  507,  549. 
%  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  186,  163. 
M 


178  OF    THE    PRESBYTERY. 

Must  the  Presbyteries  have  geographical  bounds? 

"  Within  a  certain  district.'^  This  implies  that  the 
Presbytery  must  have  geographical  bounds.  In  1834 
the  Assembly  decided  that  this  ought  to  be  so,  "  except 
in  very  extraordinary  cases."  *  According  to  the  terms 
of  reunion  in  1869,  the  boundaries  of  the  several  Syn- 
ods and  Presbyteries  were  adjusted  by  the  Assembly  of 
the  united  Church.  This  was  done  by  the  Assembly 
determining  the  bounds  of  thirty-four  Synods,  and  re- 
quiring each  of  these  to  hold  a  special  meeting  to  divide 
its  allotted  territory  into  certain  districts  and  consign 
them  to  Presbyter ies.f  The  bounds  of  Presbytery  can 
be  changed  by  Synod  after  approval  by  the  Presbyteries 
interested.  If  the  proposed  change  affects  the  bound- 
aries of  Synods,  those  Synods  must  be  consulted  and  the 
matter  referred  to  the  General  Assembly.^  The  Assem- 
bly may  change  the  bounds  of  Presbytery, § 

How  are  the  churches  represented  in  Presbytery  ? 

"One  Ruling  Elder  from  each  congregation."  "  Ruling 
Elders  are  properly  the  representatives  of  the  people." 
It  is  the  duty  of  the  Session  "to  appoint  delegates  to  the 
higher  judicatories  of  the  Church."  ||  The  Session  should 
appoint  a  delegate  and  an  alternate  for  each  and  every 
meeting,  whether  regular  or  special,  of  the  Presbytery, 
that  the  church  may  certainly  be  represented.  It  is  the 
custom  of  some  Sessions  to  appoint  a  delegate  to  serve 
for  three  or  more  months.  There  is  nothing  in  the  con- 
stitution to  forbid  this.  An  Elder  who  has  retired  from 
the  active  exercise  of  his  office  cannot  be  sent  as  delegate.^ 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  135,  137. 

t  Ibid.,  pp.  92,  182 ;  Minutes  O.  A.  1S70,  p.  97. 

X  Prexbylerian  Digest,  p.  266.  ?  See  p.  257. 

II  See  p.  162.  ^  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  115. 


DELEGATES  OF  CHURCHES.  179 

But  when  a  church  has  adopted  the  rotary  eldership,  those 
Elders  whose  terra  of  service  has  expired  may  be  appointed 
by  the  Session  delegates  to  Presbytery  and  Synod.*  In 
Scotland  a  Minister  without  charge  or  an  Elder  of  another 
church  may  be  appointed  by  the  Session  to  represent  them 
in  the  higher  judicatories.  But  according  to  our  constitu- 
tion the  delegate  to  Presbytery  must  be  an  Elder  of  the 
church  which  he  represents.  The  same  delegate  must  be 
sent  to  an  adjourned  meeting  of  Presbytery  who  was  pres- 
ent at  the  stated  meeting,  especially  when  the  business 
partly  considered  is  to  be  continued  at  the  adjourned  meet- 
ing.f  In  1878  the  Assembly  was  asked,  If  a  delegate  to 
Synod  could  represent  his  Session  at  an  adjourned  meeting 
of  the  Presbytery  held  during  the  intervals  of  the  sessions 
of  Synod?  and  may  the  Session  appoint  him  delegate  to 
Synod  and  to  an  adjourned  meeting  of  Presbytery?  The 
reply  was:  "No  rule  is  laid  down  in  our  standards  as  to  the 
particular  term  or  time  of  service  of  delegates  appointed  by 
church  Sessions  to  the  higher  judicatories  of  the  Church." 
"It  is  left  to  each  Session  to  prescribe  the  particular  terms 
for  which,  or  times  at  which,  its  delegates  shall  attend 
as  its  representatives  in  such  judicatories.  Under  this 
view  the  first  branch  of  the  overture  is  answered  in  the 
negative,  but  the  questions  involved  in  both  branches 
are  subject  in  each  individual  case  to  the  control  of 
each  Session."  J 

If  the  delegate  fail  to  appear,  the  Presbytery  should  call 
the  Session  to  account  for  not  appointing  a  delegate,  or 
order  it  to  inquire  concerning  the  absence  of  the  Elder  or 
Elders  appointed,  and  to  pass  censure  if  needed. § 

*  Form  of  Oovernment,  ch.  xiii.,  sect.  viii. 

t  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  131.  J  Minutes  G.  A.  1S78,  p.  69. 

§  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  131.     See  p.  162. 


180  ~     OF    THE    PRESBYTERY. 

in.  How  many  Elders  may  the  Session  send  to  Presby 
tery? 

The  previous  section  entitles  every  congregation  to  be 
represented  by  one  Elder,  the  principle  being  that  there 
shall  be  an  equal  number  of  JMinisters  and  Ruling  Elders 
in  our  judicatories.  If  a  church  has  more  than  one  Pastor, 
the  church  may  send  "  tioo  or  more  Elders,  in  p'oportion 
to  the  number  of  its  Pastors^  *  The  application  of  this 
general  principle  would  seem  to  require  that  when  a 
church  has  two  Pastors,  one  of  whom  is  aged  and  infirm, 
but  unable  to  attend  the  Presbytery,  the  Session  can  send 
only  one  Elder.  "The  term  'collegiate  church''  is  used  in 
two  senses — first,  of  a  church  with  more  than  one  Pastor; 
second,  of  two  or  more  churches  united  under  the  care  of 
one  Pastor."  *  To  these  may  be  added  a  third :  "  a  church 
which  is  united  with  otliers  under  the  joint  pastorate  of 
several  Ministers."  f  In  any  such  case  the  number  of 
Elders  sent  to  Presbytery  is  determined  by  the  number 
of  its  Pastors. 

IV.  How  are  two  or  more  congi'egations  united  under  one 
Pastor  to  be  represented  ? 

''By  one  Elder"  and  for  the  same  reason  as  above.* 
In  such  cases  the  Sessions  of  the  several  churches  should 
alternate  in  electing  a  delegate  to  Presbytery.  If  these 
churches  belong  to  different  Presbyteries,  they,  while  un- 
der one  Pastor,  shall  belong  to  the  Presbytery  with  which 
the  Minister  is  connected,  and  be  only  there  represented. 
When  such  pastoral  relation  ceases,  the  churches  nmst 
return  to  their  former  Presbyteries.  |  This  was  reiter- 
ated in  1874.  §  If  the  Minister  has  been  installed  over 
one  church,  and  acts  as  Stated  Supply  of  another,  he  is 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  138.  f  Webster^ s  Dictionary. 

t  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  139.  §  Minutes  G.  A.  1874,  p.  82. 


DELEGATES  OF  CHURCHES.  181 

not  the  Pastorof  the  latter;*  and  therefore  both  churches 
have  a  right  to  be  represented, f 

In  our  large  cities  a  church  will  often  sustain  one  or  more 
missionary  chapels.  These  frequently  have  no  church  or- 
ganization, but  form  a  part  of  the  parent  church,  and  are 
subject  to  its  Session.  They  may  have  their  own  Pastors, 
who  are  appointed  by  the  Session  of  the  parent  church, 
which  also  determines  who  may  be  admitted  to  the  sac- 
raments administered  in  the  chapels.  Those  worshiping 
there  have  no  voice  in  the  temporal  or  spiritual  affairs 
of  the  chapels,  nor  are  they  expected  to  take  part  in  the 
business-meetings  of  the  church.  They  are  virtually 
without  discipline,  except  the  pastoral  oversight  of  their 
own  Ministers,  for  the  members  of  the  Session  of  the 
church  do  not  know  them  and  have  no  oversight.  The 
chapel  congregations  can  have  no  representation  in  Pres- 
bytery, but  their  Ministers,  being  ordained,  have  seats. 
These  city-mission  chapels  are  not  therefore  established 
according  to  Presbyterian  principles,  and  should  be  re- 
garded as  temporary,  preparing  for  full  organization  as 
independent  churches,  or  else  should  be  permitted  to  elect 
Elders  and  be  recognized  as  mission  churches,  supervised 
and  aided  by  the  parent  church  or  by  the  Board  of  Mis- 
sions, and  having  the  right  of  representation  in  Presby- 
tery. 

V.  How  are  vacant  churches  to  be  represented  ? 

A  vacant  church  is  one  which  has  no  Pastor  duly  in- 
stalled over  it.  It  may  have  a  Stated  Supply,  who  may 
have  served  them  for  several  years  (an  evil  to  be  dis- 
countenanced, and  terminated  as  soon  as  practicable),  X  or 
it  may,  with  other  churches,  be  statedly  ministered  unto 
by  a  domestic  Missionary  without  installation.    In  either 

*  See  p.  48,  f  Freabylerian  Dkjcst,  p.  138.  J  Ibid.,  p.  113. 

16 


182  OF   THE   PRESBYTERY. 

case  the  church  is  vacant,  aud  is  entitled  to  representation 
in  Presbytery  by  an  Elder.  So  the  O.  S.  Assembly  de- 
cided in  I860.*  The  reasons  are  (1)  that  the  Stated  Sup- 
ply or  Missionary,  as  such,  has  neither  authority  nor  seat 
in  the  Session ;  f  (2)  that  every  congregation  has  a  right  to 
representation;!  and  (3)  while  vacant  they  have  special 
need  of  the  oversight  and  care  of  Presbytery.  This  rule 
is  evidently  right,  yet  at  times  may  give  a  domestic  Mis- 
sionary or  the  Elders  of  feeble  churches  an  undue  in- 
fluence in  Presbytery.  The  evil,  however,  is  practically 
counteracted  by  the  fact  that  Ministers  are  almost  always 
more  numerous  than  the  Elders  in  the  meeting  of  that 
body,  and  every  act  must  be  reviewed  by  the  higher 
courts. 

VI.  How  are  Elders  to  be  accredited  ? 

^^ Every  Elder  not  knonm  to  the  Presbytery  shall  produce 
a  certificate  of  his  regular  aj)pointment  from  the  church 
which  he  represents." 

VII.  What  is  a  quorum  of  Presbytery  ? 

"Avy  three  Ministers,  and  as  many  Elders  as  may  be 
present,  belonging  to  the  Presbytery,  being  met  at  the  time 
and  place  appointed,  shall  be  a  quorum  competent  to  pro- 
ceed to  business." 

If  no  Elder  be  present,  the  three  Ministers  form  a  quo- 
rum. Such  was  the  decision  of  the  O.  S.  Assembly  in 
1843  and  1844,  and  was  defended  on  the  ground  "that 
Ministers  are  not  only  preachers  of  the  gospel  and  ad- 
ministrators of  sealing  ordinances,  but  also  Ruling  El- 
ders in  the  very  nature  of  the  office,"  and  that  the  ab- 
sence of  Elders  "  does  not  prevent  the  Presbytery  from 
constituting  and  transacting  business,"  since  the  churches 
had  the  right  to  send  delegates  to  take  part  in  all  acts  of 

*  Presbyterian  Diyesl,  p.  139.         f  See  p.  127.  J  See  p.  178. 


QUORUM.  183 

government  and  discipline.*  The  N.  S.  Assembly  seems 
to  have  taken  no  action  on  the  question,  save  in  1857  to 
declare  that  two  clerical  members  did  not  form  a  quorum 
of  Presbytery. f  The  Southern  Presbyterian  Church  re- 
quires the  presence  of  an  Elder  to  form  a  quorum:  "Any 
three  Ministers  belonging  to  the  Presbytery,  together  with 
at  least  one  Ruling  Elder,  being  met  at  the  time  and 
place  appointed,  shall  be  a  quorum  competent  to  proceed 
to  business."! 

May  less  than  tliree  Ministers  be  a  quorum  ? 

'^  Three  Ministers,  with  as  many  Elders  as  may  be  pres- 
entj"  are  necessary.  Two  may  meet  and  adjourn  from 
time  to  time  until  another  arrives,§  but  can  do  nothing 
else.  They  cannot  receive  a  Minister  who  is  present 
with  a  certificate  from  another  Presbytery,  and  thus  form 
a  quorum.  The  reception  of  a  member  is  the  act  of  a 
Presbytery,  and  not  of  a  committee,  nor  can  the  act  of 
less  than  a  quorum  be  legalized  by  the  quorum  thus 
obtained,  1 1  But  the  General  Assembly  can  make  it 
valid.  T 

In  peculiar  cases,  where  by  death  or  removals  the 
Presbytery  has  been  reduced  to  two  members,  they  may 
receive  new  members  and  transact  business  with  the  quo- 
rum thus  obtained,  but  such  reception  and  business  have 
no  validity  until  sanctioned  and  legalized  by  the  General 
Assembly.**  Less  than  a  quorum  cannot  table  charges 
nor  take  any  steps  toward  discipline,  because  such  acts 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  139.     See  also  Church  Polity,  p.  300. 

t  New  Digest,  p.  134. 

X  Book  of  Church  Order,  ch.  v.,  sect,  iv.,  sub-sect.  iii. 

?  General  Rules  for  Judicatories,  iii.    See  p.  491. 

II  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  141. 

i  Minutes  Q.  A.  1877,  pp.  529,  549. 

**  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  143. 


184  OF   THE   PRESBYTERY. 

belong  to  the  Presbytery,*  which  cannot  consider  charges 
received  "by  individuals  usurping  its  prerogatives."  Nor 
can  less  than  a  quorum  appoint  commissioners  to  the 
General  Assembly.  Such  commissioners  cannot  be  ad- 
mitted to  seats.f 

Vni.  What  is  the  first  power  of  Presbytery  ? 

"To  receive  and  issue  appeals  from  church  Sessions  and 
references  brought  before  them  in  an  orderly  manner." 

What  Is  the  difference  between  an  appeal  and  a  refer- 
ence? 

"  A  reference  is  a  judicial  representation  made  by  an 
inferior  judicatory  to  a  superior,  of  a  case  not  yet  decided," 
"  for  mere  advice  preparatory  to  a  decision  by  the  infe- 
rior judicatory,  or  for  ultimate  trial  and  decision  by  the 
superior ;"  while  "  an  appeal  is  the  removal  of  a  cause 
already  decided  from  an  inferior  to  a  superior  judicatory, 
by  a  party  aggrieved,"  for  a  change  of  sentence.  J  In  the 
former  case  the  higher  is  called  upon  to  help  the  lower 
court  in  its  duty ;  in  the  latter  case  it  must  verify  or  cor- 
rect the  action  of  the  lower  court.  An  apj^eal  can  be 
made  only  "  by  a  party  aggrieved,"  Avho  has  submitted 
to  a  regular  trial  before  the  inferior  judicatory.  A  ref- 
erence is  made  "  by  an  inferior  judicatory  to  a  superior."  | 
An  appeal,  if  in  order,  must  be  heard  and  decided  by  the 
higher  court,  but  a  reference  may  be  returned,  "  either 
with  or  without  advice,  back  to  the  judicatory  by  which 
it  was  referred."! 

What  is  a  complaint  ? 

Before  1821  no  distinction  was  made  between  a  com- 
plaint and  an   appeal ;  the  usual   expression  was,  "  We 

*  Book  of  Discipline,  cli.  iii.,  sect,  v.;  cli.  v.,  sects,  ii.  and  v. 

t  Presbijierian  Digest,  p.  141. 

J  Book  of  Discipliiie,  ch.  vii.,  sects,  ii.  and  iii. 


APPEALS.  •  185 

complain  and  appeal."*  "A  complaint  is  a  representa- 
tion made  to  a  superior,  by  any  member  or  members  of 
a  minority  of  an  inferior  judicatory,  or  by  any  other  per- 
son or  persons,  respecting  a  decision  by  an  inferior  judi- 
catory, which,  in  the  opinion  of  the  complainants,  has 
been  irregularly  or  unjustly  made.^f  If  in  order,  and 
if  in  respectful  language,  the  complaint  must  be  heard. f 
It  cannot  be  dismissed  "on  the  ground  that  it  is  not 
against  a  judicial  decision."  J 

Do  the  Scriptures  recognize  the  right  of  appeal  ? 

It  is  assumed  in  all  that  is  said  of  the  unity  of  the 
Church.  There  is  but  one  law  of  God,  which  is  bind- 
ing upon  all  churches  and  the  whole  Church.  Any  mis- 
application of  law  is  a  wrong,  not  only  to  the  individual 
or  particular  church,  but  to  the  body.  The  one  member 
who  suffers  has  a  right  to  appeal  to  the  whole  Church, 
Avhich  suffers  with  it.  It  is  recognized  in  the  appoint- 
ment of  courts  of  appeal  (Ex.  18  :  25,  27).  The  syna- 
gogues were  subject  to  the  Sanhedrim.  The  first  Chris- 
tian churches  were  not  isolated,  but  were  united  under 
the  Apostles  and  the  recognized  authority  of  general 
councils  (Acts  15  :  5,  6,  19,  20).§ 

Should  an  appeal  be  answered  with  advice  or  author- 
ity? 

Some  denominations,  as  the  Congregational,  vest  all 
authority  in  the  local  church,  and  accord  to  the  assembly 
of  churches  only  the  right  of  advice  or  counsel.  This 
gives  the  small  body  more  authority  than  the  larger,  the 
part  more  than  the  whole.     The  local  church  may  set  at 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  548,  note, 
f  Book  of  Discipline,  ch.  vii.,  sect.  iv. 
i  Minutes  G.  A.  1878,  p.  117. 
§  What  is  Presbyterianism  ?  pp.  68-72. 
16  * 


186  ~  OF    THE    PRESBYTERY. 

nauglit  the  decision  of  the  denomination,  and  persist  in 
holding  doctrines  denounced  as  heretical,  and  continue 
discipline  declared  to  be  wrongly  inflicted.  The  rights 
of  individuals,  the  peace  of  particular  churches  and  the 
purity  of  the  whole  body  require  that  appeals  be  an- 
swered with  authority  (Acts  15  :  10, 19,  20,  23-29;  1  Cor. 
5:  3,  4,  12,  13).* 

How  should  a  reference  be  answered  ? 

A  reference  may  be  for  advice,  in  which  case  advice 
should  be  given.f  But  the  advice  thus  given  cannot 
lightly  be  set  aside.  It  comes  from  the  liigher  court, 
and  must  be  respected.  The  reference  may  be  "  for  ul- 
timate trial  and  decision,"  or  it  may  be  an  overture ;  in 
either  case  the  decision  of  the  Presbytery  is  of  author- 
ity, and  is  binding  until  revoked  by  a  higher  judicatory. 

What  is  meant  by  "in  an  orderly  manner"  ? 

According  to  the  law  and  usage  of  the  Church.  (1) 
An  appeal  must  come  from  the  party  aggrieved,  (2) 
after  submitting  to  a  trial  before  Session  ;  (3)  a  written 
notice  must  have  been  given  to  the  Session,  with  reasons, 
within  ten  days  after  the  sentence  appealed  from  has  been 
passed ;  (4)  it  must  be  lodged  with  the  Clerk  of  the 
higher  court  before  the  close  of  the  second  day  of  their 
session ;  and  (5)  it  must  be  couched  in  respectful  lan- 
guage.! 

A  complaint  may  come  from  any  person  or  persons; 
notice,  with  reasons,  must  be  given  within  ten  days  after 
the  rising  of  the  judicatory  ;  it  must  be  lodged  with  the 
Clerk  of  the  higher  court  before  the  close  of  the  second 
lay  of  its  meeting ;  and  must  be  in  respectful  language.§ 

*  See  p.  117-122.  f  Book  of  Discipline,  ch.  vii.,  sect,  ii, 

X  Ibid.,  ch.  vii.,  sect.  iii. ;  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  564. 
§  Book  of  Discipline,  ch.  vii.,  sect.  iv. 


APPEALS.  187 

A  reference  can  come  only  from  a  judicatory,  and  in 
a  case  not  yet  decided,  and  must  be  in  writing.* 

What  is  the  effect  of  a  notice  of  appeal  ? 

Notice  of  an  appeal  or  complaint  must  be  given  in 
writing,  with  reasons,  "before  the  judicatory  appealed 
from,  either  before  its  rising,  or  within  ten  days  there- 
after ;"  if  after  the  adjournment,  it  must  be  lodged  with 
the  Moderator,  and  the  appeal,  with  reasons,  must  be 
lodged  "with  the  Clerk  of  the  higher  judicatory  before 
the  close  of  the  second  day  of  their  session."  "The 
necessary  operation  of  an  appeal  is  to  suspend  all  further 
proceedings  on  the  ground  of  the  sentence  appealed  from. 
But  if  a  sentence  of  suspension,  or  of  excommunication 
from  church  privileges,  or  of  deposition  from  office,  be 
the  sentence  appealed  from,  it  shall  be  considered  in  force 
until  the  appeal  shall  be  issued."  f  The  O.  S.  Assembly 
in  1864  decided  that  an  appeal  against  a  certain  action 
did  not  prohibit  the  Presbytery  from  acting  as  they 
thought  necessary  for  the  peace  and  prosperity  of  the 
Church,  according  to  "Form  of  Government,"  ch.  x,, 
sect.  viii.|  In  1881  the  Assembly  decided  that  when  a 
Presbytery  dissolved  a  church  and  ordered  the  Elders 
to  cease  to  exercise  their  office,  "  the  effect  of  an  appeal 
is  to  continue  all  the  rights  of  the  Elders  as  to  repre- 
sentation in  the  higher  courts  until  the  appeal  is  finally 
issued  by  the  higher  judicatories."  §  In  a  complaint  and 
an  appeal  the  reasons  must  be  given  within  ten  days,  to- 
gether with  the  notice.  §  The  same  Assembly  declared 
that  "a  complaint  alone  does  not  suspend  or  arrest  the 
action  complained  of."  || 

*  Book  of  Discipline,  ch.  vii.,  sect.  ii.        f  Ibid.,  ch.  vii.,  sect.  iii. 

X  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  589,  590. 

§  Minuk^  G.  A.  1881,  p.  587.  ||  Ibid.,  p.  586. 


188  ,  OF    THE    PRESBYTERY. 

How  are  appeals  to  be  heard  ? 

By  the  Presbytery  sitting  in  a  judicial  capacity,  after 
the  Moderator  from  the  chair  has  solemnly  warned  the 
Presbytery  that  "it  is  about  to  pass  to  the  consideration 
of  tlie  business  assigned  for  trial,  and  enjoined  the 
members  to  recollect  their  high  character  as  judges 
of  a  court  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  solemn  duty  on 
which  they  are  about  to  enter."  *  The  trial  should  be 
conducted  strictly  according  to  the  "Book  of  Disci- 
pline," ch.  vii.,  sect,  iii.:  "In  taking  up  an  appeal,  after 
ascertaining  that  the  appellant  on  his  part  has  con- 
ducted it  regularly,  the  first  step  shall  be  to  read  the 
sentence  appealed  from ;  secondly,  to  read  the  reasons 
which  were  assigned  by  the  appellant  for  his  appeal,  and 
which  are  on  record;  thirdly,  to  read  the  whole  record  of 
the  proceedings  of  the  inferior  judicatory  in  the  case,  in- 
cluding all  the  testimony  and  the  reasons  of  their  decision ; 
fourthly,  to  hear  the  original  parties ;  fifthly,  to  hear  any 
of  the  members  of  the  inferior  judicatory  in  explanation 
of  their  decision  or  of  their  dissent  from  it.  After  all  the 
parties  shall  have  been  fully  heard,  and  all  the  information 
gained  by  the  members  of  the  superior  judicatory  from 
those  of  the  inferior,  which  shall  be  deemed  requisite,  the 
original  parties  and  all  the  members  of  the  inferior  judica- 
tory shall  withdraw;  when  the  Clerk  shall  call  the  roll, 
that  every  member  may  have  an  opportunity  to  express 
his  opinion  on  the  case;  after  which  the  final  vote  shall 
be  taken."     Comjilaints  are  conducted  in  the  same  way.f 

What  shall  be  done  if  the  records  are  not  presented? 

The  Session  may  be  censured  for  not  presenting  their 
records,  having  received  due  notice  of  the  appeal,  and 

*  General  Rvles  for  Judicatories,  xl.    Sec  p.  496. 
t  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  560. 


APPEAL.  189 

the  Session  may  be  cited  to  appear  at  a  subsequent  meet- 
ing with  their  records.  But  the  case  should  be  postponed 
until  these  are  produced.  The  record-book  or  attested 
copies  are  necessary.* 

Must  the  records  be  read  ? 

With  consent  of  parties  the  reading  of  the  records  may 
be  dispensed  with,  when  the  facts  are  admitted  by  the 
parties. t  The  records  may  be  printed  and  distributed  to 
the  members  of  the  court,  and  if  attested  by  the  Clerk 
of  the  lower  court,  and  with  consent  of  parties,  the  read- 
ing may  be  omitted,  f  In  1847  the  O.  S.  Assembly  de- 
clined to  examine  an  appeal,  because  the  record  was  too 
voluminous,  and  because  the  interests  of  the  Church 
would  be  better  promoted  by  dismissing  the  case  with- 
out further  trial,  the  appellant  consenting.!  In  reading 
the  record  the  O.  S.  Assembly  permitted  portions  of  the 
record,  not  referring  to  the  issue  in  hand,  to  be  omitted, 
both  parties  consenting.  § 

Who  are  the  original  parties  ? 

"The  original  parties  are  the  parties  concerned  in  the 
origin  of  the  dispute,"  the  accuser  and  the  accused.  When 
common  fame  is  the  accuser,  it  would  seem  that  the  com- 
mittee appointed  to  prosecute  in  the  name  of  common 
fame  should  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  original  parties. 
This  the  O.  S.  Assembly  denied  in  1859  and  affirmed  in 
1861.11 

How  are  the  members  of  the  inferior  judicatory  to  be 
heai'd  ? 

They  have  a  right  individually  to  speak  "  in  explana- 

■*  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  560,  590;  Book  of  Discipline,  ch.  vii.,  sect, 
iii.,  sub-sect.  viii.  f  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  561. 

t  Minutes  G.  A.  1878,  pp.  22.  28,  32,  53. 
I  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  562.  ||  Ibid.,  pp.  563,  580. 


190  OF  THE   PEESBYTERY. 

tion  of  the  grounds  of  their  decision,  or  of  their  dissent 
from  it."  This  right  cannot  be  denied.  Yet  it  is  not  al- 
ways claimed.  It  has  been  found  that  the  inferior  court 
can  better  express  and  defend  their  decision  by  appoint- 
ing a  committee  to  represent  and  plead  their  case;  those 
dissenting  from  the  decision  sometimes  have  a  committee 
to  present  their  reasons  for  dissent.* 

How  shall  the  members  of  the  inferior  court  retire  ? 

The  withdrawal  may  be  construed  either  literally — 
then  the  members  must  leave  the  house :  this  has  very 
frequently  been  insisted  upon  before  the  division,  and  by 
the  O.  S.  Assembly  as  late  as  1859 — or  metaphorically, 
when  the  members  may  remain,  but  must  be  silent,  and 
are  considered  out  of  the  house.  This  was  allowed  sev- 
eral times  ))efore  the  division.  The  N.  S.  body  does  not 
seem  to  have  taken  any  action,  nor  has  the  reunited 
Church.     The  clause  is  generally  understood  literally.f 

May  an  appeal  be  tried  by  a  commission  ? 

"A  commission  is  an  extraordinary  committee  of  a 
church  court,  appointed  eitlier  for  some  special  business 
or  to  take  cognizance  of  such  as  may  arise  during  the 
vacations  of  the  court.  It  differs  from  an  ordinary  com- 
mittee in  that  it  is  empowered  not  only  to  inquire  and 
prepare  business  for  the  action  of  the  court,  but  also  pro- 
visionally to  come  to  any  such  determinations  and  enforce 
any  such  decisions  as  would  be  within  the  competence  of 
the  court  itself.  It  differs  from  a  court,  as  its  decisions 
and  determinations  are  merely  provisionary  and  of  force 
ad  interim,  and  must  be  subject  to  the  revision  and  ulti- 
mate determination  of  tlie  court,  by  which  they  may  be 
set  aside  and  annulled,  and  which  alone  can  by  its  sanc- 

*  Book  of  Dkcipline,  ch.  vii.,  sect,  iii.,  sub-sect.  viii. 
t  Presbylerian  Digest,  p.  566. 


APPEAL.  191 

tion,  either  tacit  or  express,  give  them  permanent  author- 
ity." The  question  upon  the  review  of  the  acts  of  a  com- 
mission is,  "  whether  the  court  will  recognize  as  its  own 
the  decrees  provisionally  passed  in  its  name."  It  is  not 
constitutional  to  try  an  appeal  or  complaint  by  a  com- 
mittee, but  it  is  lawful  to  try  by  a  commission.  Yet  as 
every  disputant  has  the  right  to  be  heard  by  the  whole 
court,  trial  by  commission  is  allowable  only  with  consent 
of  parties.*  Formerly  commissions  were  often  appointed 
to  license  Candidates,  ordain  Ministers,  translate  Pastors, 
terminate  difficulties  in  congregations,  organize  churches, 
try  cases,  issue  appeals,  etc.f 

May  an  appeal  be  dismissed  ? 

It  may  when  the  appeal  is  not  presented  in  an  orderly 
manner ;  |  w^hen  the  appellant  fails  to  appear  in  person 
or  by  counsel ;  when  the  records  are  absent ;  when  no 
evidence  is  presented  to  sustain  the  allegations  ;§  when 
a  previous  decision  covers  the  case ;  ||  when  no  one  is  ag- 
grieved by  the  technical  informality ;  when  the  reasons 
assigned  are  vague,  insufficient. T[ 

May  tlie  verdict  in  the  case  by  a  civil  court  be  reason  for 
an  appeal  ? 

The  verdict  in  the  civil  court  is  the  application  of  a 
human  law  through  its  forms  of  trial,  testimony  and 
judgment.  The  Church  has  to  do  with  a  divine  law 
and  its  own  methods.  That  which  is  an  offence  in  the 
Church  may  not  be  in  the  State.  Often  the  State  has 
forbidden  what  the  Church  commands.  In  cases  of 
crimes  the  civil  court  may  acquit  or  convict  on  a  tech- 

*  See  p.  218.  f  Assevibh/s  Digest,  pp.  233--246. 

X  Sen  p.  186.  |  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  551-555,  595. 

II  Minutes  G.  A.  1S74,  p.  62. 

i  Minutes  G.  A.  1880,  pp.  29,  68,  69,  81. 


192  OF   THE    PRESBYTERY. 

nicality  which  the  Church  canuot  regard.  Its  verdict 
sliould  be  considered,  with  its  reasons,  in  the  original 
trial,  but  cannot  determine  the  sentence  of  the  Session. 
One  pleading,  under  certain  circumstances,  "guilty"  iu 
the  civil  court,  and  acquitted  by  the  Session,  should  have 
the  confidence  of  the  Church ;  and  his  plea  in  the  for- 
mer cannot  be  used  as  a  reason  for  a  complaint  against 
the  sentence  of  the  latter.* 

What  may  the  decision  be  ? 

"  The  decision  may  be  either  to  confirm  or  reverse,  in 
whole  or  in  part,  the  decision  of  the  inferior  judicatory; 
or  to  remit  the  cause,  for  the  purpose  of  amending  the 
record,  should  it  appear  to  be  incorrect  or  defective,  or 
for  a  new  trial."  In  case  of  a  complaint,  if  it  be  well 
founded,  "  it  may  have  the  effect  not  only  of  drawing 
down  censure  upon  those  who  concurred  in  the  judg- 
ment complained  of,  but  also  of  reversing  that  judg- 
ment, and  placing  matters  in  the  same  situation  in 
which  they  were  before  the  judgment  was  pronounced." 
Yet  "  the  reversal  of  the  judgment  of  an  inferior  judi- 
catory is  not  necessarily  connected  with  censure  of  that 
judicatory."  f 

How  is  the  vote  taken  ? 

After  the  expression  of  opinion  by  the  members  of  the 
court,!  the  roll  is  called  a  second  time,  and  the  usual 
form  of  the  vote  is,  "  Shall  the  appeal  be  sustained  ?" 
and  the  members  answer  either  "  Sustain,"  or  "  Sustain 
in  part,"  or  "  Not  sustain."  The  result  is  declared  under 
these  three  heads.  The  question  should  be  put  upon  each 
charge  separately,  and  then  on  the  whole  appeal.  After 
the  vote  a  committee  should  be  appointed  to  bring  in  a 

*  Minute,'!  G.  A.  ISSO,  p.  64. 

t  Book  oj  Discipline,  ch.  vii.,  sects,  iii.  and  iv.  |  See  p.  188. 


APPEALS  IN  OTHER  CHURCHES.        193 

minute  expressive  of  the  decision  of  the  coui't,  which 
should  be  recorded.* 

Who  may  vote  ? 

All  the  members  of  the  court,  except  that  "members 
of  judicatories  appealed  from  cannot  be  allowed  to  vote 
in  the  superior  judicatory  on  any  question  Connected  with 
the  appeal."  So  also  in  case  of  complaint.f  No  Minis- 
ter or  Elder  who  was  a  member  of  the  judicatory  when 
the  vote  appealed  from  took  place  can  vote  on  the  appeal. 
Such  was  the  decision  in  1792.  In  1836  the  Assembly 
decided  that  an  Elder  of  the  lower  court  could  not  vote, 
even  though  he  was  not  a  member  of  that  court  when 
the  case  was  tried.  But  Ministers  or  Elders  who  were 
in  transitu,  dismissed  before  the  trial  in  the  lower  court, 
but  not  received  by  another  body,  could  vote  on  the  ap- 
peal in  the  higher.  The  Moderator  of  the  judicatory,  if 
a  member  of  the  court  appealed  from,  must  retire  from 
the  chair  while  the  appeal  is  being  tried.  Other  mem- 
bers who  may  be  personally  interested  in  the  result  of 
the    appeal  may  voluntarily  retire  or  be  challenged.| 

How  are  appeals  made  in  other  churches  ? 

In  the  Episcopal  Church  a  communicant  who  is  guilty 
of  "any  wickedness  of  life"  shall  be  repelled  from  the 
holy  communion  by  the  Rector,  who  shall  inform  the 
Bishop  of  the  fact.  The  repelled  party  may  within  three 
months  complain  in  writing  to  the  Bishop,  who  may  re- 
store him  "  from  the  insufficiency  of  the  cause  assigned 
by  the  Minister,"  or  he  may  institute  an  inquiry  into  the 
case,  according  to  the  canons  of  the  diocese.§ 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  567,  574 ;  Minutes  G.  A.  l^tS,  p.  60. 
t  Booh  of  Discipline,  ch.  vii.,  sect,  iii.,  sub-sect,  xii.,  and  iv.,  sub- 
sect,  vii.  J  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  579,  587,  588. 
§  Canons,  1878,  title  ii.,  canon  xii. 
17  N 


194  OF   THE    PRESBYTERY. 

Tn  the  Reformed  Episcopal  Church  an  offending  com- 
iDunicant  must  be  regularly  tried  by  a  court  composed 
of  the  Rector  and  Churchwardens  of  the  congregation  to 
which  he  belongs.  He  may  have  a  Minister  or  a  com- 
municant as  his  counsel.  If  dissatisfied  with  the  result 
of  the  trial,  he  may  within  ten  days  give  notice  of  his 
intention  to  appeal.  Within  ten  days  after  the  notice  he 
must  present  his  appeal,  with  reasons,  in  writing,  to  the 
president  of  the  court  and  to  the  Secretary  of  the  General 
Council,  by  whom  the  appeal  shall  be  tried.* 

In  the  Methodist  Church  a  member  may  appeal  from 
the  decision  of  the  committee  of  communicants  appoint- 
ed to  try  himf  to  the  next  Quarterly  Conference.  "And 
if,  in  the  judgment  of  the  Presiding  Elder,"  because  of 
local  prejudice,  "an  impartial  trial  cannot  be  had  in  the 
Quarterly  Conference  of  the  circuit  or  station  where 
the  appellant  resides,  he  may,  on  the  demand  of  either 
party,  cause  the  appeal  to  be  tried  by  any  other  Quar- 
terly Conference  within  his  district,  after  due  notice  to 
the  complainant  and  appellant."  J 

In  the  Lutheran  Church  appeals  of  communicants  from 
decisions  of  the  church  Council  may  be  carried  to  the 
Synod. § 

In  Congregational  churches,  if  any  member  thinks 
that  he  has  been  improperly  disciplined,  a  mutual  Coun- 
cil may  be  called,  "chosen  half  by  each  party,  to  revise 
the  case,  and  to  give  their  opinion  or  advice  to  the  church. 
In  this  advice  both  parties  generally  concur,  though  the 
church  is  not  compelled  to  follow  it  when  adverse  to  its 
own  judgment.     If  the  church  should  not  concur  in  the 

*  Canons,  1874,  title  ii.,  canons  iv.,  v.,  vi.  \  See  p.  156. 

X  Discipline,  1880,  p.  157. 

§  Formula  of  Government,  ch.  viii.,  sect.  iv. 


LICENSE   CANDIDATES.  195 

result ,  a  copy  of  the  opinion  of  the  Council  Avould  be  a 
sufficient  letter  of  recommendation  for  the  aggrieved  per- 
son with  which  to  unite  with  another  church.  If  the 
church  refuse  to  unite  with  the  complainant  in  calling  a 
mutual  Council,  he  may  summon  an  ex-parte  Council  of 
Buch  churches  as  he  may  please;  and  if  that  Council  jus- 
t  ify  him,  he  may  use  their  result  as  a  letter  of  recom- 
mendation in  apjilying  to  another  church."* 

What  is  the  second  power  of  Presbytery  ? 

"To  examine  and  license  Candidates  for  the  holy  mirv- 
istry."-\  The  Candidate  must  be  recommended  by  the 
Session  to  the  Presbytery,  who  directs  his  studies,  exam- 
ines and  licenses  him  (1  Tim.  4  :  14 ;  Acts  13:2,  2).% 

Who  is  a  Candidate  ? 

No  one  is  recognized  as  a  candidate  until  he  has  been 
received  as  such  under  the  care  of  the  Presbytery  to 
which  he  naturally  belongs,  after  a  careful  examination 
as  to  his  piety,  motives  for  desiring  to  enter  the  minis- 
try, and  qualifications  for  the  work.§ 

To  whom  is  he  responsible  ? 

He  is  still  a  member  of  the  particular  church,  and 
therefore  is  responsible  to  the  Session  in  all  things  con- 
cerning his  Christian  conduct.  The  Presbytery  has  the 
charge  of  his  stuclies,  and  must  be  the  judge  of  his 
diligence  and  ability,  and  decide  when  he  may  be  li- 
censed or  his  name  be  stricken  from  the  roll  of  Can- 
di  dates.]  I 

Upon  what  must  he  be  examined  ? 

See  "Form  of  Government,"  ch.  xiv.^f 

*  Congregational  Manual,  p.  11 ;  Congregationalism,  p.  214. 

f  Form  of  Government,  cli.  xiv.  See  p.  303. 

J  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  144. 

I  Ibid,  p.  365.     See  p.  299.  ||  Ibid,  p.  402.  ^  See  p.  319. 


196  ,  OF   THE   PRESBYTERY. 

What  is  meant  by  license  ? 

The  grant  of  authority  to  preacli  the  gospel.  It  is  a 
part  of  trial  of  the  Candidate's  fitness  for  the  ministry. 
It  may  be  recalled  when  to  the  Presbytery  "his  services 
do  not  appear  to  be  edifying  to  the  churches."  It  is  of 
force  only  during  four  years,  and  may  be  extended  foi 
the  period  of  one  more  year.  This  is  not  to  be  under- 
stood "as  abridging  the  power  and  discretion  of  the  Pres- 
byteries to  license  probationers  in  extraordinary  cases."  * 
In  1874  the  Assembly  said,  "The  determination  of  the 
sense  of  the  words  '  extraordinary  cases '  must  be  left  to 
the  Presbytery  in  connection  with  tlie  circumstances  of 
each  case."t  License  must  be  with  a  view  to  the  minis- 
try, and  not  "  as  a  means  to  attain  a  higher  measure  of 
usefulness  merely,  without  aiming  to  reach  ordination ;" 
which  "would  be  virtually  to  make  two  grades  of  preach- 
ing officers."  X 

In  the  Episcopal  Church  the  Bishop  exercises  this 
power,  on  the  recommendation  of  a  committee  appointed 
by  the  Standing  Committee  of  the  diocese.  § 

In  Congregational  churches  the  license  is  granted  by 
the  Association ;  tliat  is,  by  a  body  composed  of  Ministers. 
"They  meet  for  prayer  and  mutual  counsel;  they  exam- 
ine and  approbate  those  who  may  wish  to  enter  the  min- 
istry ;  and  they  make  useful  suggestions  to  the  churches," 
but  exercise  no  other  ecclesiastical  power.  ||  In  some  places 
the  license  can  be  granted  only  by  a  Council  called  for 
that  purpose  by  the  church  of  which  the  Candidate  is  a 
member.  This  seems  to  be  more  in  accordance  with  the 
principles  of  Congregationalism. 

*  Form  of  Government,  ch.  xiv.,  sect,  xi.;  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  401. 
t  Minutes  G.  A.  ISTJf,  p.  82.  %  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  401. 

§  Canons,  1878,  title  i.,  canon  iii.        1|  Congregational  Manual,  p.  10. 


ORDINATION.  197 

In  the  Baptist  Church  the  local  church  may  license 
those  considered  qualified.  This  is  generally  done  when 
the  Candidates  begin  their  preparation  for  the  ministry. 

In  the  Methodist  Church  the  Candidates  are  recom- 
mended by  the  Leaders'  meeting  to  the  Quarterly  Con- 
ference, which  grants  the  license  after  an  examination  by 
the  Presiding  Elder.*  The  license  is  given  early  in  their 
course  of  training,  and  is  renewed  from  year  to  year.  Ex- 
horters  recommended  by  Leaders'  meeting  or  by  the  class  of 
which  they  are  members,  may  be  licensed  by  the  Preacher 
in  charge  to  exhort,  but  not  to  preach  from  a  text. 

In  the  Lutheran  Church  the  Candidates  are  examined 
by  a  ministerial  Session  composed  "  exclusively  of  Scrip- 
ture Elders — that  is,  Preachers  " — which  "  is  called  a 
Ministerium  or  Presbytery."  This  body  examine,  li- 
cense and  ordain  Candidates  for  the  ministry.f 

What  is  the  third  power  of  Presbytery  ? 

"Too7-dam,  insfall,remove  and  judge  Ministers"  (1  Tim. 
4:14;  Acts  13:2,3). 

What  is  ordination  ? 

It  is  the  solemn  consecration  of  a  person,  by  prayer 
and  the  laying  on  of  hands,  to  an  office  in  the  Church. 

The  Komish  Church  regards  it  as  the  impartation  of  a 
certain  grace  or  divine  influence  and  power.  It  insists, 
therefore,  on  the  necessity  of  apostolic  succession  and  on 
the  peculiar  relation  of  those  thus  ordained  to  the  Church 
and  to  Christ. 

In  the  Episcopal  Church  much  of  this  view  has  been 
retained,  as  is  seen,  in  the  stress  laid  upon  apostolic  suc- 
cession and  in  the  form  of  ordination.  The  Bishop  says : 
"Receive  the  Holy  Ghost  for  the  office  and  work  of  a 


*  Discipline,  1880,  p.  69.    See  p.  361. 
t  Formula  of  Government,  chs.  . — "'    "■ 


p.   OUJ.. 

,  xvii.  and  xviii. 
17 


198  OF   THE    PRESBYTERY. 

Priest  in  the  Churcli  of  God,  now  coniraitted  unto  thee 
by  the  imposition  of  our  hands;  wliose  sins  thou  dost 
forgive,  they  are  forgiven ;  and  whose  sins  thou  dost  re- 
tain, they  are  retained;  and  be  thou  a  faithful  dispenser 
of  the  word  of  God  and  of  his  holy  sacraments :  In  the 
name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.     Amen."  * 

The  Reformed  Episcopal  Church  has  adopted  the  view 
of  ordination  taken  by  most  Protestant  churches,  and  has 
omitted  the  above  form  and  adopted  that  which,  though 
optional, is  seldom  used  in  the  Episcopal  Church:  "Take 
thou  authority  to  execute  the  office  of  a  Presbyter  in  the 
Church  of  God,  now  committed  unto  thee,  and  be  thou 
a  faithful  dispenser  of  the  word,"  etc.  f 

The  Methodist  Church  has  changed  it  into  a  prayer  or 
benediction:  "The  Lord  pour  upon  thee  the  Holy  Ghost 
for  the  office  and  work  of  an  Elder  in  the  Church  of  God, 
now  committed  unto  thee  by  the  authority  of  the  Church 
through  the  imposition  of  our  hands;  and  be  thou  a  faith- 
ful dispenser,"  etc.  J 

The  Presbyterian  form  of  ordination  may  be  seen  on 
p.  IV)^. 

By  whom  should  ordination  be  performed  ? 

The  Catholic  Apostolic  Church  hold  that  ordination 
can  be  performed  only  by  the  Apostles  or  by  legates  ap- 
pointed by  them  in  special  cases. 

The  Episcopal  Church  hold  that  Ministers  are  of  three 
orders,  each  having  a  distinct  office  and  work.  Deacons 
and  Priests  are  ordained  by  the  Bishop  of  the  diocese,  and 
Bishops  by  a  number  of  Bishops.*    The  Reformed  Epis- 

*  Common  Prayer.  See  p.  358. 
^  f  Common  Prayer  Beforvied  Episcopal  Church. 

X  Discipline,  1880,  p.  329, 


ORDINATION.  1^9 


copal  Church  at  the  ordination  of  a  Bishop.  "The  Bishop 
presiding,  and  three  or  more  Presbyters,  with  such  other 
Bishops  as  may  be  present,"  shall  join  in  laying  on  hands. 
Presbyters  also  join  with  the  Bishop  in  the  ordination  of 
Presbyters,  but  not  of  Deacons.* 

In  the  Methodist  Church  the  Bishop,  with  the  Elders 
present,  lays  on  hands,  except  in  the  ordination  of  Dea- 

cons.f 

In  the  Congregational  Church  the  Council  called  to  or- 
dain a  Candidate  appoints  a  committee  of  two  or  more  Min- 
isters to  perform  the  service  in  the  presence  of  the  Council. 
In  the  Presbyterian  Church,  Ministers  are  ordained  by 
the  Presbytery  (1  Tim.  4 :  14).  %     In  the  early  part  of  the 
last  century  ordination  was  sometimes  performed  by  a 
commission  of  Presbytery.  §     The  right  to  do  so  is  not 
denied,  because,  unlike  a  committee,  a  commission  acts  in 
the  name  and  power  of  the  Court,  and  may  be  invested 
with  whatever  authority  belongs  to  that  body,  even  to  try 
Ministers  and  issue  appeals.  1|     But  the  almost  uniform 
custom  now  is  to  ordain  by  the  Presbytery,  and  not  by 
a  commission.     If  the  candidate  be  without  the  bounds 
of  a  Presbytery,  as  on  missionary  ground,  he  may  not  be 
ordained  by  a  commission,  even  seeking  the  approbation 
of  the  Assembly.!    Appendix,  p.  519. 

May  ordination  be  by  two  Ministers? 

In  1850  a  candidate  was  examined  and  approved  by  a 
(quorum  of  Presbytery,  but  when  he  was  about  to  be  or- 
dained only  two  Ministers  were  present,  who  proceeded 

*  Common  Prayer  Reformed  Episcopal  Church. 

t  Discipline,  1880,  pp.  323,  339,  345. 

X  Form  of  Government,  ch.  xv.     See  p.  353. 

§  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  145. 

II  See  p.  190;  Church  Polity,  p.  307;  Assembly's  Digest,  p.  240. 

^  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  149. 


200  OF    THE    PRESBYTERY. 

to  ordain.  The  O.  S.  Assembly  recognized  this  to  be 
irregular,  but  valid.* 

Where  should  Ministers  be  ordained  ? 

In  the  presence  of  the  people  among  whom  they  are  to 
labor.f  Exceptions  are  often  made  in  the  case  of  Evan- 
gelists, Avho  are  "  to  jjreach  in  frontier  or  destitute  settle- 
ments" beyond  the  bounds  of  Presbyteries,  of  foreign 
Missionaries,  and  where  it  is  highly  inconvenient  or  im- 
possible.! 

Is  lay  ordination  valid  ? 

Whether  performed  by  communicants,  by  Elders  or  by 
deposed  Ministers,  it  is  invalid.  It  must  be  by  vote  of 
Presbytery  and  by  the  laying  on  of  the  hands  of  Minis- 
ters. Neither  can  Elders  or  other  laymen  take  part  with 
Ministers  in  the  act  of  ordination. § 

Is  the  ordination  of  other  denominations  to  be  recog- 
nized? 

Certainly.  "The  Presbyterian  Church  has  always  con- 
sidered the  ordination  of  most  other  Protestant  churches 
as  valid  in  themselves."  ||  Romish  ordination  is  not  val- 
id.T[  This  is  true  also  of  Unitarian,  of  Campbellite,  and 
of  Universalist  ordination.**  But  Mobile  the  evangelical 
Protestant  churches  and  their  Ministers  are  recognized, 
Ministers  applying  to  be  received  into  the  Presbyterian 
Church  are  required  "  to  continue  their  study  and  prepa- 
ration till  they  are  found  on  trial  and  examination  to  be 
qualified  in  learning  and  ability  to  teach  in  the  manner 
required  by  our  standards;  but  that  when  found  to  be  thua 

*  Chhirh  Polity,  p.  305.  f  Form  of  Government,  ch.  xv. 

X  Pi'eabyterian  Digest,  pp.  146,  149. 
I  Ihirt.,  pp.  116,  117,  147.  II  Ibid.,  p.  147. 

If  Ibid.,  pi>.  149,  661 ;  Assembly's  Digest,  p.  560;  Minutes  G.  A.  1879, 
p.  630.  **  Presbyterian  Dige.'tt,  pp.  659,  674. 


ORDINATION.  201 

qualified  it  shall  not  be  necessary  to  reorclain  said  appli- 
cants." They  must,  however,  formally  "receive  and 
adopt  the  '  Confession  of  Faith '  of  this  Church  as  con- 
taining the  system  of  doctrine  taught  in  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures," the  usual  form  being  to  give  assent  to  the  ques- 
tions asked  of  the  Candidate  for  ordination  *  In  1880 
the  Assembly  enjoined  the  Presbyteries,  "  when  dealing 
with  applications  from  Ministers  of  other  denominations 
for  admission  into  our  Church,  to  demand  of  such  appli- 
cants evidence  of  having  had  a  course  of  collegiate  and 
theological  instruction  equivalent  to  that  demanded  in 
the  case  of  Candidates  for  the  ministry  under  the  care  of 
our  Presbyteries,  and  that  such  applicants  shall  be  sub- 
ject to  a  particular  and  careful  examination  in  theol- 
ogy." f  In  all  such  cases  the  Presbyteries  should  "be 
careful  to  record  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  and  the 
reasons  which  induced  them  to  receive  such  ordained 
Minister."  | 

Is  ordiQation  procured  by  fraud  valid  ? 

It  is,  but "  the  Presbytery  should  in  such  case  proceed 
immediately  to  depose  him  who  has  been  guilty  of  fraud."  X 
Such  was  the  decision  of  the  O.  S.  Assembly  in  1843. 

May  one  be  ordained  who  does  not  expect  to  devote  Ms 
life  to  preacMng  the  gospel  ? 

Teachers,  Professors,  Editors,  etc.,  whose  work  is  ap- 
proved by  Presbytery,  may  be  ordained  sine  titulo,  pro- 
vided, from  a  full  view  of  their  qualifications  and  cir- 
cumstances, the  Presbytery  shall  think  it  expedient  to 
ordain  them.§ 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  55,  57,  147. 

t  Minutes  G.  A.  1880,  p.  85.  %  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  148. 

I  Ibid.,  p.  413. 


202  OF   THE   PEESBYTERY. 

May  a  Presbytery  ordain  a  Candidate  who  is  to  labor 
witMn  the  bounds  of  another  Presbytery? 

The  Assembly  has  earnestly  recommended,  as  "our 
'  Form  of  Government '  seems  to  recognize  the  right 
and  privilege  of  each  Presbytery  to  examine  and  ordain 
those  who  come  to  the  pastoral  office  within  their  bounds, 
and  who  have  never  before  exercised  that  office,"  tbat 
men  who  propose  to  pursue  the  work  of  the  ministry  in 
any  section  of  the  country  where  a  Presbytery  is  already 
organized  shall  go  as  Licentiates,  and  there  be  ordained. 
The  Congregational  churches  of  New  England  were  also 
requested  not  to  ordain  those  who  propose  to  labor  in  the 
bounds  of  our  Presbyteries.* 

May  ordinations  take  place  on  the  Sabbath  ? 

There  is  no  general  rule  on  the  subject.  It  is  incon- 
venient for  the  Presbytery  to  meet  on  the  Sabbath,  and 
this,  with  other  reasons,  led  the  Assembly  to  say  in  1821, 
"  It  is  not  expedient  that  ordinations  should  take  place 
on  the  Sabbath,  yet  there  may  be  cases  in  which  urgent 
and  peculiar  circumstances  may  demand  them."  f 

What  is  installation  ? 

The  settlement  of  a  Minister  over  a  congregation  as 
its  Pastor.  The  call  from  the  church  is  sent  to  the  Pres- 
bytery, and  if  approved  is  placed  in  the  hands  of  the 
Licentiate  or  Minister.  If  it  be  accepted,  the  Presby- 
tery may  adjourn  to  meet  at  the  church  and  ordain  and 
install  him,  or,  if  he  be  a  Minister,  a  committee  may  be 
sent  to  install  him. J 

May  the  Presbytery  refuse  to  Install  ? 

The  congregation  and  Minister  may  be  fully  satisfied 

*  Prcfbytenan  Digest,  p.  146.  f  Ibid.,  p.  148. 

X  Form  of  Ooverument,  chs.  xv.  and  xvi. ;  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp. 
149,  408,  416.    See  p.  346. 


REMOVING    MINISTERS.  203 

and  unite  in  urging  the  pastoral  relation,  yet  the  Pres- 
bytery has  the  right  to  refuse.  So  the  O.  S.  Assembly 
replied  to  an  overture  in  1855.*  The  "  Form  of  Gov- 
ernment," ch.  XV.,  sect,  ix.,  implies  this  right :  "  If  the 
Presbytery  think  it  expedient  to  present  the  call  to  him, 
it  may  accordingly  be  presented."  In  1814  alid  in  1817 
the  Assembly  defended  the  right  of  the  Presbytery  to 
refuse  to  put  the  call  into  a  Minister's  hands,t  and  again 
in  1875.t 

Can  the  terms  of  the  call  be  afterward  changed  ? 

It  is  a  mutual  contract,  and  can  be  changed,  therefore, 
by  mutual  consent,  subject  always  to  the  review  of  the 
Presbytery.  If,  however,  the  parties  do  not  agree  in  a 
proposed  change,  nothing  can  be  done  without  the  con- 
sent of  Presbytery,  because  the  terras  of  the  call  were 
the  conditions  upon  Avhich  the  Presbytery  consented  to 
the  installation,  and  because  that  body  has  the  super- 
vision and  charge  of  the  pastoral  relation. § 

What  is  meant  by  "  removing  "  Ministers  ? 

Releasing  them  from  the  charge  of  a  church.  This 
may  be  done  (1)  at  the  Pastor's  request;  (2)  on  the  pe- 
tition of  the  congregation ;  (3)  according  to  the  desire  of 
Pastor  and  people  ;1|  (4)  when  the  Presbytery  judges  it 
expedient,  even  though  the  Pastor  and  his  people  re- 
monstrate ^  (this  power  ought  to  be  exercised  with  great 
caution);  **  (5)  at  the  petition  of  some  other  church  which 
may  desire  his  services ;  (6)  the  Synod  may  on  appeal 
order  the  removal  of  a  Pastor ;  ^  (7)  the  Presbytery,  af- 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  149,  408.  f  Ibid.,  p.  549. 

t  Minutes  G.  A.  1875,  p.  510.     See  p.  347. 

§  Form  of  Government,  chs.  xv.,  xvi.  xvii. 

II  See  pp.  371-381.  If  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  150 

**  Form  of  Government,  ch.  xvi. 


204  OF  THE   PRESBYTERY. 

ter  trying  charges  against  a  Pastor  and  finding  him  inno- 
cent, should  "  determine  the  question  of  the  expediency 
of  the  continuance  of  the  pastoral  relation,  in  such  a 
manner  as  they  may  judge  to  be  just  to  the  contending 
parties  and  for  the  interests  of  religion."  *  (8)  The  Gen- 
eral Assembly  may  require  his  services  elsewhere. 

May  a  Minister  be  dismissed  to  another  denomination  or 
Presbytery  while  continuing  Pastor  of  the  church  ? 

The  church  and  Pastor  must  belong  to  the  same  Pres- 
bytery.f  The  Pastor  is  not  entitled  to  join  another  body 
while  continuing  his  pastoral  relation.^  He  may  not  be 
dismissed  if  unsound,§ 

What  is  meant  by  "to  judge  Ministers"? 

To  have  jurisdiction  over  them.  Ministers  are  not 
accountable  to  the  Session,  nor  primarily  to  the  Synod 
or  General  Assembly,  but  to  the  Presbytery,  which 
judges  of  their  qualifications,  determines  their  positions 
and  work,  and  is  responsible  for  their  personal  and  of- 
ficial good  standing.  In  case  of  charges  brought  against 
them  the  Presbytery  must  try  them  and  give  judg- 
ment. II 

May  the  Presbytery  judge  of  the  fitness  of  its  members? 

In  all  oases  a  Minister  bringing  proper  testimonials 
from  another  Presbytery  should  be  received,  unless  he 
has  forfeited  his  good  standing  since  his  dismissal ;  in 
which  case  he  is  responsible  to  the  Presbytery  which 
dismissed  him,  and  which  must  be  informed  of  his  mis- 
conduct, that  they  may  examine  the  charges  against 
him.^     The  rule  of  the  General  Assembly  should  be  ob- 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  1S74,  p.  46.  f  See  p.  180. 

X  Presbyterian  Dirjesl,  p.  150.  §  Minutes  G.  A.  187S,  p.  103. 

II  Form  of  Government,  chs.  xvi.,  xvii. ;  Book  of  Discipline,  chs.  v. 
and  X.;  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  150-170,  517-528. 

1[  Book  of  Discipline,  ch.  x. ;  Presbyterian  Diyest,  pp.  153,  621,  622. 


JUDGES   MINISTERS,  205 

served — that  Ministers  should  belong  to  the  Presbytery 
within  whose  bounds  they  reside.*  It  is  right  also  for 
the  Presbytery  to  judge  of  the  expediency  of  receiving 
those  whose  letters  may  be  regular  and  good,  but  it 
should  not  refuse  without  sufficient  reasons.f  If  there 
is  any  reasonable  doubt  of  their  piety  or  soundness  in 
doctrine,  the  Presbytery  has  the  right  to  satisfy  itself 
by  examination  or  by  some  other  method.  In  1837  the 
Assembly  made  it  imperative  on  the  Presbyteries  to  ex- 
amine all  applicants  for  admission.  The  next  year  the 
N.  S.  Assembly  declared  this  order  null  and  void,  while 
not  denying  the  right  of  Presbytery  to  satisfy  itself  of 
the  fitness  of  its  members.  In  the  proposed  plan  of 
reunion  the  right  to  examine  Ministers  from  other  Pres- 
byteries  was  distinctly  asserted,  but  discretion  was  left 
to  each  Presbytery.  In  the  final  agreement  of  reunion 
it  is  thus  expressed :  "  It  is  earnestly  recommended  to 
the  lower  judicatories  of  the  Church  that  they  conform 
their  practice  in  relation  to  all  such  usages,  as  far  as  is 
consistent  with  their  convictions  of  duty,  to  the  gen- 
eral customs  of  the  Church  prior  to  the  controversies 
that  resulted  in  the  separation."  |  In  1880  the  Assem- 
bly recommended  "  that  the  matter  be  left  to  the  Presby- 
teries, as  the  rightful  judges  of  the  qualifications  of  their 
own  members."!  The  right  to  examine  is  therefore 
claimed  when  there  is  reason  for  doubt  or  suspicion 
of  unsoundness. 

If  a  Minister  be  received  hastily,  and  be  found  unworthy, 
can  Ms  reception  be  reconsidered? 

No.  He  has  been  admitted,  and  his  membership  can 
be  severed  only  by  regular  process.^ 

*  See  p.  176.  f  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  151. 

X  Ibid.,  pp.  93,  151-153.  ?  Minutes  G.  A.  1S80,  p.  56. 

18 


206  OF   THE   PRESBYTERY. 

Can  an  applicant  be  rejected  ? 

If  the  Presbytery  be  not  satisfied  with  his  qualifica- 
tions, he  may  be  refused,  but  there  must  be  sufficient  rea- 
sons for  his  rejection.* 

May  a  Minister  be  received  on  a  qualified  letter? 

A  qualified  letter  cannot  be  given  to  a  Minister.  He 
can  be  received  only  on  a  certificate  of  good  standing. 
So  the  O.  S.  Assembly  decided  in  1869.t 

How  can  a  Minister  be  received  from  an  extinct  Presbytery? 

The  Presbytery,  after  dismissing  a  Minister,  becoming 
extinct,  cannot  examine  charges  of  offences  committed 
while  in  transitu;  therefore  the  Presbytery  to  which  he 
applies  may  receive  him,  and,  if  he  be  charged  with  an 
offence,  conduct  process  against  him.  It  has  the  right  to 
decline  receiving  him;  he  may  then  appeal  to  Synod, 
and  it  ought  to  decline  if  there  is  no  prospect  of  giving 
him  an  impartial  trial.  All  such  Ministers  are  under 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  Synod,  which  must  take  action.| 

How  should  Ministers  and  Licentiates  from  corresponding 
bodies  be  received  ? 

Licentiates  must  answer  in  the  affirmative  the  consti- 
tutional questions  directed  to  be  put  to  our  own  Candi- 
dates for  licensure ;  and  Ministers  must  give  their  assent 
to  the  first  seven  questions  which  are  asked  of  those  ap- 
plying for  ordination. § 

How  may  a  foreign  Minister  be  received  ? 

He  must  present  his  credentials  to  a  committee  of  Pres- 
bytery, who  shall  inspect  them  and  ascertain  his  sound- 
ness in  faith  and  piety.     The  committee  may  allow  him 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  151.  f  Ihid.,  p.  153. 

X  Ibid.,  p.  152. 

§  See  Form  of  Government,  ch.  xiv.,  sect.  vii. ;  cli.  xv.,  sect.  xii. ; 
Presbyterian  Diyent,  p.  152. 


DISMISSION   OF   MINISTERS.  207 

to  preach  in  the  churches  until  the  next  meeting  of 
Presbytery,  when  he  shall  be  examined  and  received  on 
probation  for  one  whole  year,  during  which  time  he  may 
exercise  all  the  functions  of  a  Minister  except  that  he 
cannot  vote  in  any  church  court  nor  accept  a  call.  The 
case  shall  then  be  reported  to  Synod  or  the  General 
Assembly  for  final  action  on  his  reception  or  rejection. 
If  the  Synod  or  General  Assembly  will  not  meet  within 
three  months  after  the  end  of  his  probation,  the  Presby- 
tery may  report  to  the  meeting  of  the  Synod  or  General 
Assembly  which  precedes  the  close  of  his  probation,  and 
receive  directions  and  authority  from  the  higher  court  to 
take  final  action.  The  year  of  probation  must  be  spent 
within  the  bounds  of  one  and  the  same  Presbytery.  If 
he  be  received  on  probation,  and  then  revisits  Eu- 
rope, on  his  return  he  must  undergo  another  proba- 
tion. This  rule  w^as  enforced  by  both  branches  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  by  decisions  rendered  (O.  S.)  1858 
and  (N.  S.)  1855-69.  In  1869  the  probation  was  waived 
in  cases  where  the  Minister  came  from  a  Presbytery  in 
corresjiondence  with  the  Assembly.  By  the  reunited 
Church  further  exception  was  made  in  favor  of  those 
coming  from  Presbyterian  churches  of  Great  Britain.* 
In  other  cases  probation  is  necessary.  The  above  rules 
were  recognized  by  the  Assembly  in  1875  in  the  recep- 
tion of  a  French  Minister  after  probation,  with  consent 
of  General  Assembly,  and  in  1876  of  a  Swiss  Minister.f 

May  a  Minister  be  dismissed  to  a  Presbytery  to  be  erected  ? 

Only  when  a  higher  court  has  given  authority  for  its 
formation.     So  the  O.  S.  Assembly  decided.| 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  155-159 ;  Appendix,  p.  523. 
t  3Tmuies  G.  A.  1875,  p.  506,  and  1876,  p.  80. 
X  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  154. 


208  OF    THE    PRESBYTERY. 

Who  may  grant  letters  of  dismission  ? 

The  Presbytery  alone.  Neither  the  Moderator  nor  the 
Clerk,  nor  a  committee  of  Presbytery,  can  dismiss  Can- 
didates, Licentiates  or  Ministers  with  or  without  charge.* 
The  "  Book  of  Discipline,"  ch.  x.,  requires  that  the  dis- 
missal shall  specify  "  the  particular  Presbytery  or  other 
ecclesiastical  body  with  which  he  is  to  be  connected;" 
and  the  Assembly  of  1874  ordered  that  the  name  should 
"  be  retained  upon  the  roll  of  the  Presbytery  dismissing 
him  until  notice  of  his  reception  be  received  from  the 
Stated  Clerk  of  the  Presbytery  receiving  him."  f 

May  a  Minister  be  dismissed  to  another  denomination? 

He  may  be  dismissed  by  regular  letter  to  those  bodies 
which  are  in  correspondence  with  the  General  Assembly. 
If  unsound  or  disloyal,  he  should  be  reprimanded,  and 
not  dismissed  as  in  good  standing.^  If  a  Minister 
should  unite  with  another  denomination  without  the 
consent  of  Presbytery,  his  conduct  is  disorderly,  and 
his  name  should  be  dropped  from  the  roll  of  members. 
Nothing  further  should  be  done  unless  he  be  chargeable 
with  fundamental  error  or  immorality,  in  which  case  he 
should  be  cited  to  answer  the  charges. § 

May  a  Presbytery  receive  a  Minister  on  a  dismissal  di- 
rected to  another  Presbytery  ? 

The  General  Assembly  of  1877  decided  that  "Book 
of  Discipline,"  ch.  x.,  sects,  ii.  and  iv.,  forbids  this.|| 

When  may  the  name  of  a  Minister  be  removed  from  the 
roll? 

"The  name  of  every  Minister  receiving  a  certificate 

*  Preabylerian  Digest,  p.  154.  f  Minutes  G.  A.  187 Jf,  p.  82. 

%  Ibid.,  1878,  p.  103. 

§  Book  of  Discipline,  ch.  x.,  sect.  iv. ;  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  169 ; 
Minutes  G.  A.  1879,  p.  613.     See  p.  214. 
II  7l/;-JiM/es  G.  A.  1877,  p.  550. 


DEMISSION    OF    MINISTERS.  209 

of  dismission  shall  be  retained  on  the  roll  of  the  Pres- 
bytery dismissing  him  until  notice  of  his  reception  be 
received  from  the  Stated  Clerk  of  the  Presbytery  receiv- 
ino;  him."*  His  name  cannot  be  removed  at  his  own 
request  because  he  is  about  to  unite  with  spme  other  de- 
nomination not  in  correspondence  with  the  Assembly,  nor 
l)ecause  he  has  changed  his  doctrinal  belief,  nor  because 
he  wishes  to  retire  from  the  work  of  the  ministry.  Nor 
can  a  name  be  dropped  without  notice  or  citation,  f 

May  a  Presbytery  refuse  to  grant  a  letter  of  dismissal  ? 

A  Minister  can  be  dismissed  only  as  in  good  standing. 
If  chargeable  with  heresy  or  crime,  he  can  be  tried  only 
by  his  own  Presbytery.  |  If,  therefore,  he  be  under 
charges  or  sentence,  or  has  been  deposed  from  the  min- 
istry, the  Presbytery  may  refuse  to  dismiss  him  or  to 
remove  the  sentence  on  his  plea  of  penitence.  § 

May  a  Minister  demit  Ms  office  ? 

The  ministry  cannot  be  laid  aside  at  pleasure,  nor  at 
the  request  of  the  Minister  pleading  ill-health  or  unfit- 
ness. Nor  can  the  Presbytery  deprive  any  of  his  office 
save  by  a  regular  course  of  discipline.  The  Church  be- 
fore the  division,  both  branches  (the  O.  S.  and  N.  S.) 
and  the  reunited  Church,  have  refused  to  allow  the  de- 
mission of  the  ministry.  ||  Though  providentially  inca- 
pacitated, his  rights  as  a  Minister  remain  (as  to  presby- 
terial  oversight  and  judgment,  a  seat  and  vote  in  the  church 
courts,  etc.)  until  he  be  deposed  after  regular  trial.  He 
may  hold  the  office  of  Chaplain  in  the  army  or  navy,  or 
even  a  civil  office,  or  engage  in  worldly  business,  subject 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  1874,  P-  82. 

f  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  169 ;  Minutes  G.  A.  1875,  p.  511. 
X  See  p.  204.  I  Minutes  G.  A.  1875,  p.  511.     See  p.  204 

II  Presbyter'an  Digest,  pp.  165-168. 
18*  0 


210  ~  OF   THE    PRESBYTERY. 

to  tlie  judgment  of  Presbytery,  which  should  inquire  fre- 
quently for  his  reasons  for  so  doing,  and  record  them  with 
approval  or  disapproval.*  In  1880  the  Assembly  received 
aijother  overture  on  this  subject,  and  referred  it  to  the 
Committee  on  the  Revision  of  the  "Form  of  Govern- 
ment "  and  "  Book  of  Discipline."  f  The  Southern  Church 
directs  that  "a  Minister  of  the  gospel  against  whom  there 
are  no  charges,  if  fully  satisfied  in  his  own  conscience  that 
God  has  not  called  him  to  the  ministry,  or  if  he  has  satis- 
factory evidence  of  his  inability  to  serve  the  Church  with 
acceptance,  may  report  these  facts  at  a  stated  meeting. 
At  the  next  stated  meeting,  if  after  full  deliberation  the 
Presbytery  shall  concur  with  him  in  judgment,  it  may 
divest  him  of  his  office  without  censure,  and  shall  assign 
him  membership  in  some  particular  church."  | 

What  action  must  be  taken  In  regard  to  those  who  with- 
draw from  the  ministry  ? 

If  the  Presbytery  be  not  satisfied  with  their  reasons, 
they  should  be  called  to  answer  charges,  unless  they  can 
be  recalled  to  a  sense  of  their  duty.  § 

What  action  must  be  taken  in  regard  to  absentees  from 
Presbytery  ? 

If  their  residence  be  unknown,  their  names  must  be 
retained  until  some  knowledge  of  them  can  be  procured. 
If  they  refuse  to  answer  the  communications  of  Presby- 
tery, they  must  be  disciplined.  || 

What  should  Presbytery  do  for  unemployed  Ministers  ? 

(1)  Provide  as  far  as  possible  for  each  permanent  or 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  161-164;  3Iinutes  G.  A.  1877,  p.  515. 

t  Minutes  O.  A.  ISSO,  p.  84. 

X  Book  of  Church  Order,  Part  II.,  ch.  xii..  sect.  iii. 

§  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  161. 

l]  3Iinutes  O.  A.  Ih76,  pp.  79,  80. 


UNEMPLOYED   MINISTERS.  211 

occasional  employment;  (2)  report  their  names  to  the 
Synodical  Committee.*  Those  who  are  honorably  re- 
tired (H.  R.)  retain  all  the  functions  of  the  ministry. 
This  designation  "does  not  affect  in  any  way  the  status 
of  the  Minister  or  deprive  him  of  any  of  the  functions 
of  his  office."  t 

In  1873  the  Board  of  Home  Missions  was  instructed 
to  organize  a  special  bureau  for  unemployed  Ministers 
and  vacant  congregations,  whose  duty  shall  be  to  gather 
and  publish  statistics,  and  to  consider  such  cases  of  vacant 
churches  and  unemployed  Ministers  as  are  reported  by 
Synodical  Committees,  and  to  endeavor  to  adjust  and  dis- 
tribute these  so  that  every  capable  Minister  applying  may 
have  something  to  do,  and  every  church  may  be  supplied, 
but  so  as  not  in  any  wise  to  interfere  with  presbyterial 
prerogatives.  |  This  bureau  has  often  been  commended 
for  its  work,  and  Synods  and  Presbyteries  have  been 
urged  to  co-operate  with  it.  §  The  plan  is  fully  described 
in  the  report  of  Home  Missions  in  1877,  but  declared  to 
be  a  failure,  as  unemployed  Ministers  made  few  applica- 
tions to  it,  and  Presbyteries  and  Synods  have  given  very 
little  attention  to  the  subject.  1|  In  1880  a  special  com- 
mittee of  five  was  appointed  "to  rejiort  some  plan  to  al- 
leviate or  remove,  if  possible,  these  evils,"  to  the  next 
Assembly.^  This  committee  brought  in  an  able  and 
valuable  report,  and  designated  three  causes  of  the  evils 
complained  of:  (1)  "The  want  of  an  adequate  support  for 
the  ministry;"  (2)  "a  lack  of  consecration  on  the  part  of 
the  ministry  to  its  work;"  and  (3)  "a  want  of  system  in 

*  P)-(sbylerian  Digest,  p.  176.  f  Minutes  G.  A.  1875,  p.  507. 

X  Minutes  G.  A.  1873,  p.  563. 

§  Minutes  1874,  P-  39 ;  1875,  p.  488 ;  1876,  p.  143. 

li  Minutes  G.  A.  1877,  p.  636.  f  Minutes  G.  A.  1880,  p.  46. 


2V2  "  OF    THE    PRESBYTERY. 

bringing  tliose  who  are  able  and  willing  to  work,  and 
vacant  churches,  together;"  and  proposed  the  following 
rules,  which  were  adopted : 

"  1.  Each  Presbytery  shall,  at  its  semi-annual  meet- 
ing, prepare  a  list  of  its  vacant  churches,  and  unem- 
ployed Ministers  who  are  competent  for  service,  and  who 
have  not  been  relieved  from  the  active  work  of  the  min- 
istry. From  this  list  shall  be  excepted  such  vacant 
churches  as  have  obtained  leave  from  the  Presbytery  to 
supply  themselves,  and  such  unemployed  Ministers  as 
have  obtained  permission  to  labor  outside  the  bounds  of 
the  Presbytery.  The  Presbytery  shall  also  require  of 
each  of  the  churches  on  the  list  so  prepared  a  report  as 
to  the  amount  it  is  able  to  contribute  for  the  support 
of  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  during  the  ensuing  six 
months,  to  the  end  that  the  Presbytery  or  its  committee 
may  determine  the  number  of  appointments  to  be  made 
for  it  from  the  list  of  supplies.  The  Presbytery  shall 
also  determine  the  amount  to  be  paid  per  week  for  pul- 
pit supplies  in  said  churches. 

"  2.  The  Committee  on  Home  Missions  in  each  Pres- 
bytery (or  such  other  committee  as  the  Presbytery  may 
appoint  for  this  duty)  shall  have  supervision  of  all  va- 
cant churches  in  the  interim  of  the  Presbytery ;  and  it 
shall  be  its  duty  to  arrange  for  their  supply  from  the 
list  of  unemployed  Ministers.  It  shall  send  such  Min- 
isters to  the  vacant  churches  or  mission-fields,  in  such 
order  and  rotation  as  may  seem  to  it  best;  provided, 
however,  that  no  Minister  shall  occupy  one  pulpit  longer 
than  two  Sabbaths  in  succession  in  the  rotation. 

"3.  If  additional  pecuniary  support  is,  in  the  judg- 
ment of  the  Presbytery,  needed  to  supply  the  vacant 
churches  with  stated  preaching  of  the  word,  the  Pres- 


UNEMPLOYED    MINISTERS.  213 

bytery  may  set  apart  a  portion  of  its  home  missionary 
contributions  for  this  purpose.  But  such  part  of  its 
contributions  shall  be  sent  through  the  Board  of  Home 
Missions,  which  Board  shall  acknowledge  it  in  its  re- 
ceipts.    Appendix,  p.  523. 

"  4.  Should  any  church,  in  the  interim,  be  prepared  to 
call  a  Pastor  or  make  provision  for  a  Stated  Supply,  its 
name  shall  be  removed  from  the  list  of  vacant  churches. 

"  5.  In  Synods  having  a  synodical  Missionary  it  shall 
be  his  duty  to  communicate  with  the  several  presbyterial 
committees  as  to  the  vacant  churches  and  unemployed 
Ministers  under  their  care  and  direction ;  and  they  shall 
co-operate  with  him  in  the  work  of  organizing  new  fields 
and  sujDplying  those  already  in  existence. 

"  6.  All  unemployed  Ministers,  able  for  service,  who 
refuse  to  be  placed  on  the  list  and  work  under  the  di- 
rection of  the  Presbytery,  shall,  if  not  excused,  be  re- 
tired, and  so  reported  to  the  Assembly. 

"  7.  If  in  the  judgment  of  the  Presbyteries  it  shall 
be  thought  best  to  make  a  more  general  arrangement 
between  the  unemployed  Ministers  and  vacant  churches 
within  the  bounds  of  the  Synod,  then  the  Synodical 
Committee  shall  take  the  place  of  the  Presbyterial,  and 
the  duties  assigned  to  the  latter  shall  attach  to  the  for- 
mer, under  such  specific  instructions  as  may  seem  best 
to  each  Synod. 

"  8.  All  in  the  act  of  the  Assembly  of  1873  concern- 
ing the  vacant  churches  and  unemployed  Ministers,  in- 
consistent with  this  act,  is  hereby  repealed." 

The  Board  of  Publication  was  instructed  to  print 
these  rules  and  send  them  to  the  Stated  Clerks  of  the 
Presbyteries.* 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  18S1,  pp.  544-548. 


214  OF   TUE   PRESBYTERY. 

Wiat  should  be  done  with  vacant  churches  ? 

(1)  A  Moderator  should  be  appointed  over  their  Ses- 
sion ;  *  (2)  provision  should  be  made  for  permanent  or 
occasional  preaching;  (3)  the  smaller  vacant  churches 
should  be  grouped  together,  and  a  Minister  supported  as 
far  as  possible  by  them ;  (4)  they  should  receive  special 
care  and  oversight;  (5)  effort  should  be  made  to  bring 
vacant  churches  and  unemployed  Ministers  together.f 

May  a  Minister  withdraw  from  the  Presbytery  ? 

This  is  sometimes  done  to  unite  with  some  other  de- 
nomination.|  Though  such  conduct  be  disorderly,  the 
Assembly  recommended  that  nothing  in  the  case  be  done 
save  the  striking  his  name  from  the  roll.  When  he  gives 
formal  notice  that  he  renounces  the  fellowship  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  and  neglects  to  attend  its  courts,  he 
should  be  dealt  with  for  such  neglect,  and  his  name  struck 
from  the  roll ;  the  fact  should  be  communicated  to  him, 
and  if  necessary  published  to  the  Church. §  The  congre- 
gation of  which  he  was  Pastor  remains  under  the  care  of 
the  Presbytery,  and  cannot  withdraw  without  its  consent. 
If,  however,  the  congregation  give  evidence  of  its  inten- 
tion to  withdraw,  and  decline  its  further  jurisdiction,  the 
Presbytery  may  then  drop  the  name  of  the  church  from 
its  roll.  But  in  all  cases,  with  or  without  the  approval 
of  that  body,  only  the  ecclesiastical  relation  is  termi- 
nated ;  "  the  questions  of  property  must  be  determined 
by  the  courts  of  the  State."  ||  If  a  Minister  who  has 
thus  withdrawn  from  the  Presbytery  afterward  desire  to 
return,  he  must  make  application  to  the  same  Presbytery 

*  Form  of  Government,  ch.  ix.,  sect.  iv. 

f  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  176;  Assembly's  Digest,  p.  56.     See  p.  210. 
i  See  p.  208. 

§  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  169;  Minutes  O.  A.  1S75,  p.  511 ;  1879,  p. 
613.  II  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  172;  Minutes  O.  A.  1876,  p.  80. 


TRIAL    OF    MINISTERS.  215 

from  which  he  withdrew,  which  shall  take  such  action  as 
it  may  deem  best.* 

May  a  suspended  Minister's  name  be  dropped  from  the 
roll  without  process? 

It  cannot  be  dropped.  The  O.  S.  Assembly  declared 
in  1847  that  the  name  of  a  suspended  Minister  must  be 
retained  until  the  Presbytery  proceed  to  the  higher  cen- 
sure of  deposition.f    Appendix,  p.  524. 

What  is  judicial  process  ? 

The  formal  trial  of  charges,  in  which  case  it  shall  be 
the  duty  of  the  Moderator  solemnly  to  announce  from  the 
chair  "  that  the  body  is  about  to  pass  to  the  consideration 
of  the  business  assigned  for  trial,  and  to  enjoin  on  the  mem- 
bers to  recollect  and  regard  their  high  character  as  judges 
of  a  court  of  Jesus  Christ  and  the  solemn  duty  in  which 
they  are  about  to  act."|  Trial  before  Presbytery  may  be 
(1)  of  Elders,  when  the  only  Elder  or  Elders  of  a  church 
be  accused,  or  when  the  Session  deem  it  inexpedient  to 
proceed  with  the  trial,  and  formally  refer  the  case  to  the 
Presbytery.§  (2)  Of  Ministers,  who  are  primarily  re- 
sponsible to  Presbytery.il  "Process  against  a  gospel 
Minister  shall  always  be  before  the  Presbytery  of  which 
he  is  a  member,"  even  when  he  does  not  reside  within 
its  bounds.  Testimony  may  by  request  be  taken  by  an- 
other Presbytery,  notice  being  given  to  the  accused  of 
time  and  place.^ 

By  whom  may  charges  be  presented  ? 

"  Process  against  a  gospel  Minister  shall  not  be  com- 
menced unless  some  person  or  persons  undertake  to  make 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  160. 

f  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  160. 

X  General  Rules  for  Judicatories,  xl. 

§  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  118;  Book  of  Discipline,  ch.  vii.,  sect.  ii. 

II  See  p.  204.  ^  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  517-520.  ' 


216  ^  OF    THE    PRESBYTERY. 

out  the  charge,  or  unless  common  fame  so  loudly  pro- 
claims the  scandal  that  the  Presbytery  find  it  necessary 
for  the  honor  of  religion  to  investigate  the  charge."  He 
should  be  warned  privately  of  his  fault  before  any  charges 
are  presented.  (1)  Common  fame  may  be  the  accuser.* 
This  was  recognized  by  the  O.  S.  Assembly  in  1866. f 
(2)  Any  Minister  or  person  may  table  the  charges.  Be- 
fore doing  so,  he  "should  apply  to  some  other  Bishop 
of  the  Presbytery  for  his  advice  in  the  case."  He 
shall  be  warned  that  "if  he  fail  to  prove  the  charges 
he  must  himself  be  censured  as  a  slanderer  of  the  gospel 
ministry,  in  proportion  to  the  malignancy  or  rashness 
that  shall  appear  in  tlie  prosecution."  J  (3)  Tlie  Presby- 
tery must  proceed  against  a  Minister  on  notice  from  an- 
other Presbytery  that  there  are  probable  grounds  for  accu- 
sation within  that  Presbytery  and  unknown  to  that  to 
which  he  belongs.§  (4)  A  Minister  may  demand  a  trial 
whenever  he  deems  that  his  Christian  and  ministerial 
character  needs  vindication.  ||  Pending  the  trial  the 
Presbytery  may  suspend  him  from  the  exercise  of  his 
ministry,  and  even  from  the  communion.  In  1866  the 
O.  S.  Assembly  suspended  certain  commissioners  from 
the  court  until  it  decided  upon  the  conduct  of  their 
Presbytery. "[[ 

How  is  the  trial  to  be  conducted  ? 

According  to  chs.  iv.,  v.  and  vi.  of  the  "  Book  of  Dis- 
cipline."** 

What  charges  may  be  brought  against  a  Minister  ? 

Charges  may  concern  the  personal  character,  as  incon- 

*  Book  of  Discipline,  cli.  v.,  sect.  v. 

f  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  521 ;  Book  of  Church  Order,  cli.  v.  sect.  iii. 

X  Book  of  Discipline,  ch.  v.,  sects,  vi.,  vii.  ?  Ibid.,  sect.  iv. 

II  Ibid.,  sect.  i. ;  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  521. 

%  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  524,  525.  **  Ibid.,  pp.  500-532. 


TRIAL   OF   MINISTERS.  217 

Bi'stency  in  his  Christian  life ;  or  his  official  character,  as 
heresy,  schism  or  violation  of  his  ordination  vows.  The 
charges  must  be  serious,  definite,  in  writing,  and  a  copy, 
with  the  names  of  witnesses  to  be  summoned,  must  be 
given  to  the  accused  at  least  ten  days  before  the  trial.* 

May  the  Minister  have  counsel  ? 

He  may  call  upon  any  Minister  or  Elder  belonging  to 
the  Presbytery  to  act  as  his  counsel,  or  he  may  plead  his 
own  cause.f 

May  the  forms  of  process  be  dispensed  with  ? 

The  Assembly,  before  the  separation,  and  in  the  O.  S. 
and  IS".  S.  divisions,  has  frequently  declared  that  the  pro- 
cess cannot  be  dispensed  with ;  no  censure  can  be  inflict- 
ed without  trial,  or  even  renewed  without  a  new  trial. J 
In  accordance  with  this,  the  N.  S.  Assembly  in  1866  de- 
cided that  confession  of  guilt  might  shorten,  but  could 
not  dispense  with,  the  judicial  process  or  trial.§  The 
O.  S.  Assembly  seems  to  have  made  no  such  utterance, 
but  has  acted  upon  the  principle.  ||  The  "  Book  of  Dis- 
cipline," ch.  v.,  sect.  X.,  reads :  "  The  charges  shall  be 
read  to  him"  (the  Minister),  "and  he  shall  be  called  upon 
to  say  whether  he  is  guilty  or  not.  If  he  confess,  and 
the  matter  be  base  and  flagitious,  such  as  drunkenness, 
uncleanness  or  crimes  of  a  higher  nature,  however  peni- 
tent he  may  appear  to  the  satisfaction  of  all,  the  Presby- 
tery must  without  delay  suspend  him  from  the  exercise 
of  his  office  or  depose  him  from  the  ministry."  This 
has  been  generally  understood  to  mean,  in  accordance 
with  the  above  decisions,  that  such  sentence  must  be 

*  Book  of  Discipline,  ch.  v.,  sects,  i.,  vi.,  viii.,  x.,  xiii. 
f  Ibid.,  ch.  iv.,  sect.  xxi. ;  ch.  v.,  sect.  ii. ;  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  514. 
X  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  494,  501,  502,  511,  524,  572,  581. 
§  Ibid.,  pp.  128,  505.  ||  See  p.  155. 

19 


2J8  -  OF   THE   PRESBYTERY. 

passed  upon  him  after  the  trial ;  which  process  may  be 
shortened  because  of  his  confession.  In  1879,  however, 
the  Assembly  decided  that  if  the  accused  person  confess 
guilt  and  willful  persistence  in  sin,  privately  and  before 
the  judicatory,  the  court "  may  proceed  to  pass  sentence 
without  further  process  of  trial."*  The  Southern 
Church  orders  that  "  when  any  person  shall  come  for- 
ward and  make  his  offence  known  to  the  court,  a  full 
statement  of  the  facts  shall  be  recorded,  and  judgment 
rendered  without  process."  f 

May  the  Presbytery  try  by  commission  ? 

In  the  early  history  of  our  Church  this  was  frequent- 
ly done,  and  there  seems  to  have  been  no  question  raised 
as  to  the  right  of  the  Presbyteries  to  appoint  commissions 
for  this  purpose.  The  practice,  however,  passed  away, 
and  for  years  trials  were  always  held  before  the  Presby- 
tery itself.  The  reason  appears  to  have  been  that  the 
Minister  had  a  right  to  the  judgment  of  the  whole  court 
in  the  original  trial  and  in  appeal  cases.  In  1846  the 
constitutionality  of  appointing  judicial  commissions  was 
disputed  in  the  O,  S.  Assembly,  and  the  matter  was  re- 
ferred to  a  committee,  which  reported  that,  "  in  view  of 
the  original  rights  of  our  judicatories,  of  the  long-con- 
tinued practice  of  the  Church,  and  of  the  great  value 
of  the  right,  on  due  occasions,  of  acting  by  commissions, 
the  hope  is  respectfully  expressed  that  the  Assembly  may 
do  nothing  which  may  have  the  effect  of  calling  that  right 
in  question."  The  motion  denying  the  right  was  indef- 
initely postponed.  |  The  O.  S.  and  N.  S.  Assemblies  oc- 
casionally appointed  judicial  commissions  to  try  appeals 

*  Minutes  O.  A.  1879,  p.  613. 

f  Book  of  Church  Order,  Part  II.,  ch.  xii.,  sect.  i. 

X  Assembly's  Digest,  p.  244. 


TRIAL   BY   COMMISSION.  219 

and  complaints,  with  consent  of  parties.  If  these  ob- 
jected, their  right  to  be  heard  by  the  whole  court  was 
not  denied.*  At  the  reunion  the  Assembly  was  found  to 
be  too  large  and  overtasked  to  attend  properly  to  judicial 
business,  and  therefore  the  practice  of  hearing  appeals 
by  commissions,  with  consent  of  parties,  has  become  gen- 
eral. The  Synods  and  Presbyteries  are  following  the 
example  of  the  highest  court,  guarding,  however,  the 
right  of  parties  to  be  heard  by  the  whole  court  if  they 
so  desire.  In  1880  the  Assembly  recognized  this  as  law- 
ful by  saying,  "  that  [as]  the  case  was  tried  by  commis- 
sion by  consent  of  parties,  we  do  not  see  that  it  furnishes 
any  just  ground  of  complaint."  f 

What  sentences  may  be  passed  on  the  guilty  ? 

The  sentence  should  be  according  to  the  nature  as  well 
as  the  degree  of  his  offence.  If  he  be  convicted  of  of- 
ficial unfitness  or  unfaithfulness,  the  Presbytery  should 
"  admonish,  suspend  or  depose  him  according  to  the  na- 
ture of  the  offence."  If  his  offence  be  personal  immor- 
ality, he  should  be  suspended  or  deposed  from  the  min- 
istry, and  also  "admonished  or  rebuked,  or  excluded  from 
church  privileges,  as  the  case  shall  appear  to  deserve, 
until  he  give  satisfactory  evidence  of  repentance,"  or  ex- 
communicated if  a  gross  offender.^  Suspension  from 
office  and  deposition  are  to  be  distinguished  from  sus- 
pension from  communion  and  excommunication.  The 
former  does  not  necessarily  include  the  latter.  A  man 
may  be  unfit  for  office  and  yet  be  a  worthy  Christian. 
Unfaithfulness  in  duty  does  not  always  involve  immor- 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  564,  565 ;  Assembly's  Digest,  p.  244,  note, 
t  Minutes  G.  A.  1880,  p.  65. 

X  Book  of  Discipline,  ch.  iv.,  sects,  xvii.  and  xx. ;  ch.  v.,  sects,  x,, 
xii.,  xiii. 


220  ^        OF   THE    PRESBYTERY. 

ality.  If  both  censures  are  intended  by  the  Presbytery, 
they  must  be  expressly  mentioned  in  the  sentence  passed. 
So  the  O.  S.  Assembly  decided  in  1848.*  The  sentence 
should  be  published,  especially  if  the  deposed  Minister 
attempt  to  exercise  any  ministerial  function,  "that  the 
churches  may  guard  themselves  against  such  dangerous 
impositions.'^  * 

May  a  deposed  Minister  be  restored? 

It  is  unconstitutional  for  any  Presbytery  to  receive  or 
restore  a  member  of  another  Presbytery  who  has  been 
deposed.  Application  for  restoration  must  always  be 
made  to  the  court  which  inflicted  the  sentence.f  If 
suspended  from  the  communion,  his  restoration  to  the 
privileges  of  the  Church  does  not  restore  him  to  office. | 
He  should  not  be  restored  to  the  ministry,  "even  on  the 
deepest  sorrow  for  his  sin,  until  after  some  time  of  emi- 
nent and  exemplary,  humble  and  edifying  conversation, 
to  heal  the  wound  made  by  his  scandal.  And  he  ought 
in  no  case  to  be  restored  until  it  shall  appear  that  the' 
sentiments  of  the  religious  public  are  strongly  in  his 
favor  and  demand  his  restoration."  Great  caution  should 
be  exercised.  §  Restoration  to  the  ministry  does  not  re- 
instate as  Pastor.     Appendix,  p.  521. 

What  is  the  standing  of  a  suspended  Minister  ? 

He  cannot  exercise  any  of  the  functions  of  the  minis- 
try, but  he  is  still  a  Minister,  as  an  Elder  is  an  Elder 
even  when  he  ceases  by  his  own  act,  by  removal  or  by 
the  advice  of  the  Presbytery,  to  exercise  his  office.  ||  "He 
ought  by  no  means  to  be  considered  as  occupying  the 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  161,  527. 

t  Ibid.,  pp.  159,  526.  J  See  p.  59. 

§  Book  of  Discipline,  ch.  v.,  sect.  xvi. ;  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  526. 
II  See  p.  58. 


REVIEW   RECORDS.  221 

ground  of  a  common  Christian  in  good  standing."  He 
is  not  a  member  of  a  particular  church,  but  is  under  the 
care  of,  and  subject  to.  Presbytery.* 

May  a  Minister  who  has  been  received  by  a  Presbytery 
be  deposed  by  another  denomination  ? 

After  his  reception  by  a  Presbytery  the  denomination 
from  which  he  came  has  no  jurisdiction  over  him,  and 
therefore  cannot  depose  him  nor  impair  his  good  stand- 
ing.f 

What  is  the  fourth  power  of  Presbytery. 

"  To  examine  and  approve  or  censure  the  records  of 
church  Sessions" 

How  often  must  this  examination  be  made  ? 

"At  least  once  a  year."|  "If  any  lower  judicatory 
shall  omit  to  send  up  its  records  for  this  purpose,  the 
higher  may  issue  an  order  to  produce  them  either  im- 
mediately or  at  a  particular  time,  as  circumstances  may 
require."  §     Appendix,  p.  522. 

What  is  the  object  of  this  examination  ? 

To  ascertain,  "First,  whether  the  proceedings  have  been 
constitutional  and  regular ;  secondly,  whether  they  have 
been  wise,  equitable  and  for  the  edification  of  the  Church ; 
thirdly,  whether  they  have  been  correctly  recorded."  § 

What  is  the  effect  of  approval? 

It  confirms  the  action  of  the  Session.  The  record  can- 
not afterward  be  changed  save  by  the  Presbytery.  An 
error  can  be  corrected  only  by  the  highest  court  which 
has  endorsed  the  mistake.  ||  "The  right  of  appeal,  either 
from  a  part  of  the  proceedings  of  a  judicatory  or  from  a 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  528.  f  Minutes  G.  A.  1874,  p.  64. 

X  Form  of  Government,  ch.  ix.,  sect.  viii. ;  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  170. 
§  Book  of  Discipline,  ch.  vii.,  sect,  i.,  sub-sects,  i.  and  ii. ;  Presbyterian 
Digest,  pp.  534,  535.  ||  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  535. 

19* 


222  -  OF   THE   PRESBYTERY. 

definite  sentence,  .  .  .  cannot  be  in  any  way  affected  by 
the  approval  of  the  minutes  of  the  judicatory  against  the 
action  of  which  the  appeal  or  complaint  may  be  taken."  * 

What  Is  the  effect  of  disapproval  ? 

The  exceptions  are  to  be  carefully  noted  in  the  Sessiou- 
book  and  in  the  minutes  of  the  Presbytery.f  The  Ses- 
sion may  be  required  to  review  and  correct  its  proceedings. 
But  no  judicial  decision  shall  be  reversed  unless  by  com- 
plaint or  appeal.  If  anything  be  found  very  injurious, 
the  Session  "  may  be  required  to  review  or  correct  its 
proceedings."  "f 

May  members  of  Session  vote  on  their  own  records  ? 

Members  of  a  court  cannot  vote  on  the  approval  of  their 
own  record  by  a  superior  court.  J 

May  copies  of  the  sessional  record  be  accepted  for  review? 

In  1790  attested  copies  were  declared  allowable  when 
it  was  found  inconvenient  to  send  the  books ;  but  in  1 841 
the  O.  S.  Assembly  rescinded  this  permission,  and  in  1847 
the  same  body  required  the  production  of  the  records 
themselves.  In  1871,  however,  the  Assembly  accepted 
a  translated  copy  of  the  Synod  of  China.  |  In  1878  a 
printed  English  translation  of  the  Synod  of  India  was 
approved,  while  the  records  of  the  Synod  of  Atlantic  were 
censured  for  containing  pages  of  printed  matter  setting 
forth  the  acts  of  Synod,  and  were  required  to  write  the 
record  and  present  it  next  year  for  approval.  § 

May  a  restored  Minister  demand  that  the  records  of  his 
case  be  closed  to  inspection? 

"  The  records  of  our  church  courts  are  public  and  not 

*  Minutes  O.  A.  1879,  p.  613.     See  p.  185. 

t  Minutes  O.  A.  1881,  p.  593;  Book  of  Discipline,  ch.  vii.,  sect,  i., 
sub-sects,  iii.,  iv. ;  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  540. 

X  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  536.  §  Minutes  Q.  A.  1878,  p.  52. 


VISIT   CHURCHES.  223 

private  dcycuments,  and  therefore  no  one  who  has  been 
under  discipline  can  demand  that  anything  pertaining  to 
his  case  shall  be  closed  to  inspection  or  transcript.  Yet 
a  wise  Christian  charity  would  suggest  that  when  the  end 
of  discipline  in  the  restoration  of  an  offender  has  been 
reached,  no  further  publicity,  if  possible,  should  be  given 
to  the  matter."  * 

What  is  the  fifth  power  of  Presbytery  ? 

"To  resolve  questions  of  doctrine  or  discipline  seriously 
and  reasonably  proposed.""  It  cannot  change  the  forms 
of  doctrine  or  of  discipline,  but  it  can  declare  the  mean- 
ing and  application  of  the  standards  of  our  Church  in 
reply  to  overtures  from  the  Session.  These  deliverances, 
however,  are  binding  only  over  the  churches  under  the 
care  of  that  Presbytery,  and  may  be  reversed  by  the 
higher  courts  on  review  or  on  complaint.  The  Pres- 
bytery may  also  assent  to  or  dissent  from  any  change  in 
the  standards  contained  in  overtures  sent  down  by  the 
General  Assembly.  A  majority  of  the  Presbyteries  is 
necessary  for  the  adoption  of  such  proposed  changes.f 

What  is  the  sixth  power  of  Presbytery  ? 

"To  condemn  erroneous  opinions  which  injure  the  purity 
or  peace  of  the  ChwchJ'  This  power  is  subject  to  the 
same  limitations  as  the  preceding. 

What  is  the  seventh  power  of  Presbytery  ? 

"To  visit  pariicular  chu7'ohes,for  the  purpose  of  inquir- 
ing into  their  state,  and  redressing  the  evils  that  may  have 
arisen  in  them"  This  may  be  done  (1)  on  the  petition 
of  the  Session  or  of  any  person  or  persons  in  the  church ; 
(2)  or  without  any  such  request,  the  Presbytery  having 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  1879,  p.  586. 

f  Form  of  Government,  ch.  xii.,  sect.  vi. ;  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp. 
325-330.    See  p  273. 


224  -  OF   THE   PRESBYTERY. 

reason  to  believe  that  there  may  be  evils  that  need  its 
influence  to  redress ;  or  (3)  in  the  exercise  of  its  duty  of 
oversight  of  the  churches.  This  visitation  may  be  made 
by  the  Presbytery  as  a  body,  by  a  commission  or  by  a 
committee.  The  evils  are  to  be  removed  by  the  Presby- 
tery through  the  Session,  to  which  body  the  members  of 
the  church  are  primarily  responsible.*  An  Elder  may 
be,  by  advice  of  Presbytery,  with  or  without  his  consent, 
retired  from  the  active  duties  of  his  office.!  If  the  visit 
is  by  a  committee,  the  power  of  the  committee  depends 
upon  the  will  of  the  Presbytery. 

What  is  the  eighth  power  of  Presbytery  ? 

"To  unite  or  divide  congregations  at  the  request  of  the 
people,  to  form  or  receive  new  congregations,  and  in  general 
to  order  whatever  pertains  to  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the 
churches  under  their  care" 

Has  a  Minister  power  to  organize  churches  ? 

He  has  in  frontier  settlements,  |  and  where  ajjplication 
to  Presbytery  would  be  exceedingly  inconvenient.  In 
all  other  cases  it  is  the  prerogative  of  Presbytery.  § 

When  may  Presbytery  organize  a  church  ? 

(1)  On  the  petition  of  persons  residing  where,  in  the 
judgment  of  Presbytery,  a  church  is  needed,  a  mission 
station  may  be  opened  by  a  Session  or  Presbytery ;  (2) 
on  the  petition  (even  of  a  minority)  of  an  existing  church, 
asking  for  a  division  and  new  organization.  The  petition 
may  be  denied,  but  no  church  can  be  divided  without  a 
request  from  the  people.  § 

May  the  Presbytery  dissolve  a  church  ? 

Yes,  even  against  tlie  wishes  of  a  majority  of  its  mem- 

*  See  p.  130.  f  See  pp.  58,  292 ;  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  170, 

349  350.  X  Form  of  Oovernment,  ch.  xv.,  sect.  xv. 

2  Seep.  31 ;  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  107,  173,  174. 


RECEIVE   AND   DISMISS   CHURCHES.  225 

bers.  This  was  so  decided  by  the  General  Assembly 
(O.  S.)  1863,  and  reaffirmed  by  the  Assembly  1875.*  The 
church  must  receive  due  notice  of  the  proposed  action, 
and  have  an  opportunity  to  be  heard,  otherwise  the  Pres- 
bytery has  no  jurisdiction  in  the  case.f  In  1878  and  1879 
the  Assembly  declared  that  the  Presbytery  "  must  be  its 
own  judge  as  to  the  causes  that  are  sufficient  to  justify  it 
in  dissolving  any  church  in  its  connection ;"  and  "if  any 
wrong  is  done  to  a  church  by  such  a  presbyterial  act, 
its  remedy  is  to  be  found  in  an  appeal  to  a  higher  ju- 
dicatory." I 

May  a  chnrcli  withdraw  from  Presbytery  ? 

Not  without  the  consent  of  Presbytery.  The  ques- 
tions concerning  property  must  be  determined  by  the 
laws  of  the  State.  § 

May  Presbytery  receive  and  dismiss  dmrches  ? 

The  bounds  of  Presbyteries  are  determined  by  the 
Synod.  If,  therefore,  it  is  desirable  to  change  the  pres- 
byterial connection  of  a  church,  application  must  be  made 
to  the  Synod.  If  the  Presbyteries  belong  to  different 
Synods,  the  General  Assembly  determines  the  transfer.]] 
The  courts  interested  should  be  always  officially  con- 
sulted. 

If  a  church  desires  to  be  received  from  another  de- 
nomination, formal  application  should  be  made  to  Pres- 
bytery, with,  if  possible,  a  record  of  the  approbation  of 
the  denomination  from  which  it  comes.  The  church,  as 
an  ecclesiastical  body,  may  be  received ;  all  questions 
of  property  must  be  settled  by  the  courts.     The  same 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  1875,  p.  507 ;  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  172. 
t  Minutes  0.  A.  1877,  p.  544.         %  Ibid.,  1878,  p.  41 ;  1879,  p.  615. 
I  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  172,  reaffirmed  by  General  Assembly  1876, 
p.  80.    See  p.  214.  1|  Ibid.,  pp.  175,  187. 

P 


226  '  OF    THE    PRESBYTERY. 

rule  must  be  observed  in  receiving  as  in  dismissing  a 
church.* 

May  the  Presbytery  dissolve  the  pastoral  relation  ? 

It  alone  has  power  to  do  so.  It  may  be  done  (1)  at 
the  request  of  the  pastor,  (2)  or  of  the  congregation,  (3)  even 
of  a  minority,  (4)  or  at  the  discretion  of  the  Presbytery.f 

IX.  What  record  shall  the  Presbytery  keep  ? 

"A  full  and  fair  record  of  their  proceedings^^'  which 
must  include  a  narrative  of  the  state  of  religion  and  all 
other  papers. J  This  record  must  be  sent  every  year  to 
Synod  for  approval,  together  with  a  report  of  "  licensures, 
ordinations,  the  receiving  or  dismissing  of  members,  the  7'e- 
moval  of  members  by  death,  the  union  and  division  of  con- 
gregations, or  the  formation  of  new  ones ;  and  in  general 
all  the  important  changes  which  may  have  taken  place 
within  their  bounds  in  the  course  of  the  year"  A  report 
must  also  be  made  every  year  to  the  General  Assembly, 
containing  (1)  "a  statistical  report,"  according  to  a  pre- 
pared form ;  (2)  "  a  narrative  of  the  state  of  religion 
within  the  bounds  of  the  Presbytery  for  the  year  ending 
April  1st."  This  should  be  very  full,  according  to  di- 
rections given  in  1872. J  In  1880  the  Stated  Clerk  was 
"directed  to  prepare  and  send  out  annually  to  the  Stated 
Clerks  of  the  Presbyteries  such  blanks  for  tabulated  state- 
ments of  facts  as  may  enable  the  Assembly's  Standing 
Conmiittee  on  the  Narrative  to  make  their  re})ort  more 
effective  and  accurate."  §     Appendix,  pp.  524,  525. 

X.  What  meetings  shall  the  Presbytery  hold  ? 

"It  shall  meet  at  its  own  adjournment."     It  is  usual  to 

*  See  p.  214.     Minutes  G.  A.  1874,  P-  65. 

■f  Form  of  Government,  ch.  xvii.;  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  174,  419. 
See  pp.  203  and  371-381.  %  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  177,  178. 

§  Minutes  G.  A.  ISSO,  p.  78. 


MEETINGS.  227 

have  stated  meetings ;  the  number  of  these  is  determined 
by  the  necessities  of  the  case.  Most  Presbyteries  hold 
two  stated  meetings.  The  larger,  and  especially  city, 
Presbyteries  meet  more  frequently,  sometimes  once  a 
month.  Some  have  intermediate  meetings,  which  are 
short  meetings  intended  to  prevent  the  imdue  accumu- 
lation of  business  at  the  stated  meetings  and  the  fre- 
quency of  extra  or  pro  re  nata  meetings.  These  stated 
and  intermediate  meetings  have  set  times,  to  which  the 
Presbytery  adjourns. 

What  is  a  "pro  re  nata"  meeting? 

It  is  a  special  meeting.  "  When  any  emergency  shall 
require  a  meeting  sooner  than  the  time  to  which  it  stands 
adjourned,  the  Moderator ,  or,  in  case  of  his  absence,  death 
or  inability  to  act,  the  Stated  Clerh,  shall,  with  the  concur'- 
rence  or  at  the  request  of  two  Ministers  and  two  Elders,  the 
Elders  being  of  different  congregations,  call  a  special  meet- 
ing. For  this  purpose  he  shall  send  a  circular  letter,  speci- 
fying the  particidar  business  of  the  intended  meeting,  to 
every  Minister  belonging  to  the  Presbytery  and  to  the  Ses- 
sion of  every  vacant  congregation,  in  due  time  previous  to 
the  meeting,  which  shall  not  be  less  than  ten  days.  And 
nothing  shall  be  transacted  at  such  special  meeting  besides 
the  particular  business  for  which  the  judicatory  has  been 
thus  convened."  The  Moderator  calling  the  meeting  must 
be  one  chosen  at  a  stated  meeting.  So  the  O.  S.  Assem- 
bly decided  in  1842,  and  in  1856  that  applicants  for  a 
p7'o  re  nata  meeting  may  specify  the  time  and  place, 
which  the  Moderator  cannot  change.*  "  Only  such  ac- 
tion should  be  had  at  a  pro  re  nata  meeting  as  is  essen- 
tial to  complete  the  business  directly  connected  with  that 
named  in  the  call  for  said  meeting."  f 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  179.  f  Minutes  G.  A.  1874,  P-  81. 


228  '  OF   THE   PEESBYTERY. 

When  may  "  pro  re  nata  "  meetings  be  called  t 

They  may  be  called  "  ou  account  of  important  occur- 
rences unknown  at  their  last  meeting,  and  which  cannot  be 
safely  deferred  till  their  stated  meeting."  Deferred  judicial 
business  is  not  proper  for  such  meetings,  except  when  it 
appears  that  "some  principal  things  upon  which  the 
judgment  depends  may  be  then  had,  and  cannot  be  ob- 
tained if  it  is  deferred  till  the  stated  meeting."  * 

Wliat  is  an  adjourned  meeting  ? 

It  is  a  continuation  of  a  meeting  of  Presbytery.  It 
may  be  at  another  place,  and  after  days,  weeks  or  even 
months  have  passed,  but  the  time  and  place  must  be  pro- 
vided for  before  the  adjournment.  No  call  or  notice 
or  circular  letter  is  necessary,  unless  required  by  a  spe- 
cial resolution.  The  object  of  an  adjourned  meeting  is 
to  complete  the  business  before  Presbytery.  This  becomes 
necessary  when  (1)  the  members  must  return  home  before 
finishing  the  docket;  (2)  when  some  other  time  or  place 
is  more  convenient;  (3)  when  it  is  more  orderly  that  part 
of  the  business  should  be  performed  elsewhere,  as  ordi- 
nation before  the  congregation ;  (4)  when  better  results 
may  be  obtained,  as  in  judicial  cases  the  court  may  be 
more  undisturbed  and  have  better  access  to  witnesses  and 
documents,  etc. 

Who  may  be  members  of  an  adjourned  meeting  ? 

Elders  appointed  to  be  delegates  to  a  meeting  of  Pres- 
bytery should  retain  their  seats  to  the  end.  It  is  not 
lawful  for  them  to  leave  and  their  alternates  to  take  their 
places ;  this  is  specially  illegal  in  judicial  cases.  Such 
was  the  decision  of  the  Assembly  in  1827,  and  it  is  ap- 
plicable to  an  adjourned  meeting,  which  is  but  the  con- 
tinuation of  a  meeting.  In  1872,  however,  in  direct 
*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  179. 


MEETINGS.  229 

variance  with  this,  the  Assembly  declared  that  a  Session 
might  send  a  different  Elder  to  an  adjourned  meeting.* 
In  1878  it  decided  that  an  Elder  appointed  to  represent 
the  Session  at  Synod  was  not,  by  virtue  of  that  appoint- 
ment, also  its  representative  at  any  adjourned  meeting  of 
his  Presbytery  held  during  the  intervals  of  the  sessions 
of  Synod ;  yet  each  Session  may  "  prescribe  the  particular 
terms  for  which,  or  times  at  which,  its  delegates  shall  at- 
tend as  its  representatives  in  such  judicatories." f  Some 
Sessions  appoint  a  delegate  to  serve  at  any  meetings 
which  may  be  held  within  six  months.  J 

May  the  Synod  order  the  Presbytery  to  meet? 

Yes,  according  to  the  decision  of  the  O.  S.  Assembly 
in  1848,  specifying  the  time,  place  and  business  to  be 
transacted.  In  such  cases  the  rules  for  the  calling  of  a 
'pro  re  nata  meeting  must  be  observed,  except  when  the 
Synod  desires,  while  in  session,  the  action  of  Presbytery 
"on  business  immediately  connected  with  the  proceedings 
of  that  body ;  in  such  cases  the  Presbytery  may  be  re- 
quired to  meet  at  once  by  order  of  the  Synod."  § 

Where  may  the  Presbytery  meet  ? 

(1)  Within  its  own  bounds — sometimes  in  a  church  or 
hall  selected  by  the  Presbytery  for  its  meetings,  but  more 
generally  in  the  different  churches  on  their  invitation. 
(2)  Without  its  bounds,  by  order  of  the  Synod — as  during 
the  meeting  of  Synod,  or  by  its  own  oi'der,  to  suit  the 
convenience  of  its  members.  § 

XI.  How  is  the  Presbytery  to  be  opened? 

^^At  every  meeting  of  Presbytery  a  sermon  shall  be  de- 
livered, if  convenient;  and  every  'particular  session  shall 
be  opened  and  closed  with  prayer."     The  preacher  should 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  131.  f  Minutes  G.  A.  1878,  p.  69. 

X  See  p.  178.  §  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  178. 

20 


230  '  OF    THE    PRESBYTERY. 

be  the  Moderator,  or  in  his  absence  the  last  Moderator 
present;  yet  in  1849  the  O.  S.  Assembly  said  that  no 
principle  of  the  constitution  was  violated  by  inviting 
a  member  of  another  Presbytery  to  preach.*  " Evei^y 
particular  session"  is  generally  understood  to  mean  each 
day's  session,  during  which  recess  may  be  taken  for  meals 
or  other  purposes. 

May  the  Presbytery  sit  with  closed  doors  ? 

"All  judicatories  have  a  right  to  sit  in  private  on  busi- 
ness which  in  their  judgment  ought  not  to  be  matter  of 
public  speculation."  t  In  1880  the  Assembly  "recom- 
mended to  its  subordinate  judicatories  that  before  entering 
upon  judicial  process  they  carefully  determine  what  degree 
of  privacy  or  publicity  in  the  proceedings  would  be  most 
conducive  to  the  ends  of  justice,  the  peace  of  the  Church 
and  the  spiritual  benefit  of  the  person  tried."  J 

How  is  the  Presbytery  to  be  closed  ? 

"Every  jxirticular  sessioji  sJiall  be  closed  with  'prayer," 
and  a  record  of  the  fact  must  be  made.  At  the  final 
adjournment  the  Moderator,  "  in  addition  to  prayer,  may 
cause  to  be  sung  an  appropriate  psalm  or  hymn,  and  shall 
pronounce  the  apostolical  benediction."  §  The  Moderator 
should  then  state  that  the  Presbytery  stands  adjourned  to 
meet  at on  i\\Q day  of ,  A,  d. . 

Xn.  "Who  may  be  invited  to  sit  as  corresponding  members? 

"  Ministers  in  good  standing  in  other  Presbyteries  or  in 
sister  churches,  who  may  happen  to  be  present,  may  be  in- 
vited to  sit  with  the  Presbytery  as  corresponding  members. 
Such  members  shall  be  entitled  to  detiberaie  and  advise,  but 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  179 ;  Form  of  Government,  ch.  xii.,  sect.  vii. 

f  General  Rules  for  Judicatories,  xxxviii.    See  p.  496. 

i  Minutes  G.  A.  1880,  p.  23. 

§  General  Rules  for  Judicatories,  xliii.     See  p.  497. 


THE  SYNOD.  231 

not  to  vote  in  any  decision  of  the  Presbyfer'y.^^  Their  names 
and  their  ecclesiastical  relation  must  be  recorded.*  The 
N.  S.  Assembly  in  1843  recommended  that  no  Minister 
should  be  so  invited  who  does  not  belong  to  some  body  in 
correspondence  with  the  Assembly ;  and  in  1849  it  unani- 
mously decided  that  it  was  orderly  to  invite  Ministers  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  to  sit  as  corresponding 
members  in  Presbytery  and  Synod.*  The  O.  S.  Assem- 
bly seems  to  have  taken  no  such  action,  but  the  usage  has 
been  in  accordance  with  the  above. 


CHAPTER    XI, 

OF   THE  SYNOD. 


I.  What  is  the  Synod? 

"As  a  Pi'esbytery  is  a  convention  of  tlie  Bishops  and 
Elders  within  a  certain  district,  so  a  Synod  is  a  convention 
of  the  Bishops  and  Elders  within  a  larger  district,  includ- 
ing at  least  three  Presbyteries."  f  The  Synod  is  therefore 
a  larger  Presbytery.  Its  original  title  was  "  The  Pres- 
bytery." It  was  recognized  as  possessing  the  powers  of 
the  subordinate  Presbyteries  and  of  supreme  jurisdic- 
tion, "unlimited  by  written  constitution  and  uncontrolled 
by  a  superior."  Its  appropriate  title  was  "  The  General 
Presbytery."  The  first  Synod  was  organized  in  1717 
by  the  three  Presbyteries,  which  then  included  all  the 
churches  of  the  denomination.  In  1725  the  Synod  was 
asked  if  it  might  be  composed  of  delegates  from  the 
Presbyteries,  and  replied  in  the  affirmative.  It  was 
voted  "  that  the  Presbytery  of  New  Castle  and  Phila- 
*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  180.  f  Minutes  G.  A.  18S0,  p.  73. 


232  ,  OF   THE   SYNOD. 

delphia  do  yearly  delegate  the  half  of  their  members  to 
the  Synod,  and  the  Presbytery  of  Long  Island  two  of 
their  number."  And  it  was  further  ordered  "that  all 
the  members  of  the  Synod  do  attend  every  third  year ; 
and  that  if  in  the  interim  anything  of  moment  occur, 
whereby  the  presence  of  all  the  members  may  be  thought 
necessary,  they  (upon  notice  given  by  the  commission  of 
Synod)  shall  carefully  attend,  notwithstanding  the  above 
delegation.  And  it  is  further  agreed  that  every  member 
of  the  Synod  may  attend  as  formerly,  if  they  see  cause." 
After  some  time  the  plan  silently  fell  into  disuse.*  "The 
'Form  of  Government,'  as  adopted  in  1789,  reads:  'As 
a  Presbytery,  etc.,  so  a  Synod  is  the  convention  of  sev- 
eral Presbyteries  within  a  larger  district,  including  at 
least  three  Presbyteries.'  The  Assembly  of  1804  sent 
down  an  overture  to  the  Presbyteries  to  change  the  sec- 
tion, so  as  to  read  as  at  present  (1873),  and  adds  in  a  note: 
*  Under  this  section  it  has  been  doubted  whether  the  mem- 
bers can  proceed  to  business  as  a  Synod  unless  there  are 
present  several  Presbyteries — i.  e.  at  least  three  Ministers 
from  one  of  the  existing  Presbyteries  and  three  from  an- 
other. The  doubt  has  not  only  caused  delay  in  several 
instances,  but  defeated  the  whole  business  of  one  entire 
meeting.  The  amendment  therefore  goes  to  make  a  Synod 
consist  not  of  Presbyteries,  but,  as  it  ought,  of  Bishops 
and  Elders.'  The  amendment  was  adopted  (1805,  p. 
333)."  t  In  1880  the  Assembly  transmitted  to  the  Pres- 
byteries the  following  overture,  which,  being  approved 
by  them,  was,  in  1881,  adopted  as  part  of  the  constitu- 
tion :  "  J7/e  Synod  may  be  composed  at  its  own  option,  with 
the  consent  of  a  majority  of  its  Presbyteries,  cither  of  all 
the  Bishops  and  one  Elder  from  each  congregation  in  its 
*  Assembly's  Digest,  p.  277.  f  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  181. 


HOW   FORMED.  233 

distriet,  with  the  same  modijiccdions  as  in  the  Presbytery, 
or  of  equal  delegations  of  Bishops  and  Elders,  elected  by 
the  Presbyteries  on  a  basis  and  in  a  ratio  determined  in 
like  manner  by  the  Synod  itself  and  its  Presbyteries.''"^ 
This,  together  with  the  adoption  of  another  overture,! 
makes  a  decided  change  in  our  constitution.  The  first 
clause  of  this  section  still  declares  the  Synod  to  be  a 
larger  Presbytery,  composed  of  Bishops  and  delegates 
from  Sessions.  The  remainder  of  the  section  permits 
and  encourages  the  Synods  to  become  provincial  Assem- 
blies, whose  boundaries  shall  correspond  with  those  of 
the  several  States,  and  whose  members  shall  be  delegates 
of  Presbyteries  which  were  not  represented  as  such  in 
Synod.  The  uniformity  of  our  church  courts  will  be  lost, 
some  Synods  remaining  larger  Presbyteries,  and  otliers 
becoming  provincial  Assemblies.     App.,  pp.  525,  528. 

How  are  Synods  formed  ? 

Synods  are  formed  and  their  bounds  determined  by 
the  General  Assembly.  In  1788  the  original  Synod  di- 
vided itself  in  four — viz. :  (1)  of  New  York  and  New 
Jersey,  (2)  of  Philadelphia,  (3)  of  Virginia,  and  (4)  of 
the  Carolinas.  The  next  year  the  General  Assembly  was 
formed  as  the  highest  court  of  the  Church,  according  to 
the  act  passed  in  1786. J  After  this  the  formation  of 
new  Synods  and  changes  in  the  boundaries  of  Synods 
were  effected  only  by  the  General  Assembly  on  the  peti- 
tion or  with  the  consent  of  the  Synods  interested  in  the 
changes.§  In  1870,  at  the  reunion  of  the  Old  and  New 
School  bodies,  there  were  fifty-one  Synods.  These  were 
by   the   General   Assembly   reorganized   as   thirty-four 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  1S80,  p.  73 ;  1S81,  pp.  522-524. 
t  See  p.  239.  %  Assembly's  Digest,  pp.  278-280. 

§  /6k/.,  pp.  2G5-275 ;  New  Digest,  pp.  142-154. 
20* 


234  .  OF   THE  SYNOD. 

Synods,  their  boundaries  determined  and  the  first  place 
of  meeting  of  each  ordered.     Some  changes  have  been 
since  made  in  the  boundaries,  and  new  Synods  have  been 
formed  by  the  Assembly,  the  Synods  and  Presbyteries 
interested  having  been  consulted.*     There  were  in  1880 
thirty-eight  Synods.f    In  1879  a  committee  was  appoint- 
ed to  report  to  the  Assembly  "  on  the  propriety  of  the 
proposed  changes,"  "looking  toward  the  reorganization 
of  the  Synods  of  the  Church."     In  1880  the  committee 
was  continued,  with    instructions  to  report  their  plan 
anew  in  case  of  the  adoption  of  the  overture  permitting 
Synods  to  be  delegate  bodies.     The  plan  was,  that  "  the 
boundaries  of  each  Synod  shall  be  made,  unless  obvi- 
ously impracticable,  conterminous  with  the   boundaries 
of  the  State."    This  plan  was  adopted  in  1881.     Twelve 
of  the  Synods  covered  entire  States,  three  extended  over 
parts  of  several  States,  two  were  in  foreign  lands,  and 
the  rest,  twenty-one  in  number,  were  in  six  States — New 
York,  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois  and  Iowa. 
These   twenty-one   were  consolidated    into   six   Synods. 
The  Synod  of  New  York  shall  comj^rise  all  the  Presby- 
teries in  that  State  and  the  churches  in  the  New  England 
States  and   the  foreign    Presbyteries  of  Oroomiah  and 
Siam.     The  Synod  of  Pennsylvania,  the  Presbyteries  in 
that  State  and  in  the  State  of  West  Virginia  and  in  West- 
ern Africa.     The  other  Synods,  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illi- 
nois and  Iowa,  shall  include  all  within  those  States.    An 
enabling  act  was  also  passed,  the  plan  and  action  to  take 
effect  on  the  second  day  of  January,  1882,  and  these  new 
Synods  were  required  to  meet  in  October,  1882,  at  places, 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  182-188 ;  Minutes  G.  A.  187 ^,  p.  82 ;  1^5, 
pp.  492,  505,  507 ;  1878,  p.  57,  etc. 
t  Minutes  G.  A.  1880,  p.  461. 


QUORUM.  235 

and  io  be  opened  with  sermons  by  Ministers,  chosen  by 
the  Assembly.*      Appendix,  p.  526. 

Can  a  Synod  refuse  to  receive  any  member  of  one  of  its 
Presbyteries  ? 

Ministers  are  primarily  responsible  to  their  Presbyte- 
ries. The  Synod  must  receive  all  who  are  reported  by 
the  Presbyteries  to  be  members  in  good  standing.  It 
has  no  power  to  order  the  lower  courts  to  erase  names 
from  their  rolls.f 

What  is  the  ratio  of  the  representation  of  Elders  in  Synod  ? 

The  same  as  in  the  Presbytery.  Or,  "  of  equal  delega- 
tions of  Bishops  and  Elders,  .  .  .  in  a  ratio  determined 
.  .  .  by  the  Synod  itself  and  its  Presbyteries." 

n.  What  constitutes  a  quorum  ? 

"Any  seven  Ministers  belonging  to  the  Synod,  who  shall 
convene  at  the  time  and.  place  of  meeting,  with  as  many 
Elders  as  may  be  present,  shall  be  a  quorum  to  transact 
synodiccd  business;  provided  not  more  than  three  of  the 
said  Ministers  belong  to  the  same  Presbytery"  If  less 
than  a  quorum  attempt  to  perform  business,  or  if  more 
than  three  Ministers,  forming  the  quorum,  be  from  the 
same  Presbytery,  the  proceedings  are  invalid,  except  as 
to  the  appointment  of  the  time  and  place  of  the  next 
meeting.  The  Synod,  however,  may  at  its  next  meeting 
review  the  acts  of  these  members,  and  adopt  or  reject  them 
as  it  may  deem  best.  § 

Is  it  necessary  that  any  Elders  should  be  present? 

Judging  from  the  decisions  of  the  General  Assembly 
in  regard  to  the  quorum  of  Presbyteries,  ||  seven  Minis- 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  1879,  p.  61 ;  1880,  p.  78 ;  1881,  pp.  559-565. 
f  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  181,  182. 

X  Form  of  Government,  ch  x.,  sects,  ii.,  iii.,  iv.,  v.  See  pp.  178,  180- 
182,  232.  2  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  189.  ||  See  p.  182. 


236  ~  OF   THE   SYNOD. 

ters  M^ould  form  a  quorum  of  Synod.  The  Southern 
Presbyterian  Church  says:  "Any  seven  Ministers  be- 
longing to  it  (the  Synod)  who  shall  convene  at  the  time 
or  place  of  meeting,  with  at  least  three  Ruling  Elders, 
shall  be  a  quorum  ;  provided  not  more  than  three  of  the 
said  Ministers  belong  to  one  Presbytery."  * 

May  the  Synod  hold  a  meeting  on  the  Sabbath  ? 

Synods  have  been  censured  for  so  doing,  even  when 
very  little  business  was  transacted. f 

If  there  be  no  quorum  present  at  the  time  and  place  ap- 
pointed, what  may  be  done  ? 

"Any  two  members  shall  be  competent  to  adjourn  from 
time  to  time,  that  an  opportunity  may  be  given  for  a 
quorum  to  assemble."  |  Less  than  a  quorum  can  trans- 
act no  business,  save  to  appoint  the  time  and  place  of  the 
next  meeting.  So  the  O.  S.  Assembly  decided  in  1856.  f 
Those  present  may  deem  it  best  to  attend  to  certain  mat- 
ters, and  their  action  may  be  approved  and  adopted  as 
the  act  of  Synod  at  its  next  meeting.  § 

What  is  the  remedy  if  the  Synod  fail  to  meet  at  the  time 
and  place  appointed  ? 

(1)  Those  who  do  meet  may  adjourn  to  some  other  time 
and  place. II  (2)  "The  Moderator  ought  to  be  consid- 
ered competent  to  call  a  meeting,"  "giving  due  notice  by 
a  circular  letter  to  the  Moderators  of  the  several  Presby- 
teries." He  is  "competent  to  fix  any  time  and  place  he 
may  judge  proper  for  xjonvening  the  body.  And  if  he  be 
absent,  the  members  present  shall  represent  the  matter 

*  Book  of  Church  Order,  cli.  v.,  sect,  v.,  sub-sect.  ii. 
f  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  189. 
X  General  Rules  for  Judicatories,  iii.    See  p.  491. 
§  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  189.     See  pp.  125,  126. 
II  See  p.  235. 


PLACE   OF   MEETING.  237 

speedily  to  him,  that  he  may  act  accordingly."  *  (3)  Or 
the  General  Assembly  may  order  the  Synod  to  meet,  and 
may  determine  the  time  and  place. f 

May  tlie  time  or  place  of  the  next  meeting  of  Synod  be 
changed  after  Its  adjournment? 

It  may  be  done  by  the  General  Assembly  on  a  petition  of 
one  of  the  Presbyteries.  This  was  done  in  1873  as  to  the 
time  of  meeting.  The  O.  S.  Assembly  changed  the  place 
of  the  Synod's  meeting  on  petition  of  a  Presbytery  in  1842. 
The  Moderator  of  Synod  has  no  such  power,  f  It  some- 
times happens,  however,  that  a  change  as  to  time  or  place 
is  necessary,  and  that  the  Assembly  does  not  meet,  so  that 
the  above  remedy  cannot  be  applied.  In  such  cases  either 
of  the  following  plans  of  procedure  may  be  adopted :  (1) 
A  quorum  may  assemble  at  the  time  and  place  appointed 
and  immediately  adjourn,  as  the  Moderator  may  suggest. 
Notice  may  be  given  to  the  Moderators  of  the  several 
Presbyteries  or  to  the  members  of  the  change,  so  that  the 
whole  body  may  assemble  immediately  after  the  adjourn- 
ment of  the  quorum.  This  may  be  done,  according  to  the 
decision  of  the  O.  S.  Assembly,  even  by  less  than  a  quo- 
rum.J  (2)  A  pro  re  nata  meeting  of  Synod  may  be  called 
by  the  Moderator  for  the  purpose  of  making  the  change.  § 
(3)  The  Moderator  may  call  the  Synod  to  meet  at  a  dif- 
ferent time  or  place.  The  Synod  may  thus  meet,  hear 
his  reasons  for  making  the  change,  and,  if  these  be  ap- 
proved, may  proceed  with  its  business,  reporting  to  the 
next  General  Assembly  the  facts  in  the  case,  petitioning 
that  body  to  legalize  the  meeting  and  to  recognize  and 
confirm  their  actions.||    Appendix,  p.  526. 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  189.  f  Ibid.,  pp.  190,  191. 

X  See  p.  236.  §  See  p.  238.  ||  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  143. 


238  OF   THE   SYNOD. 

Can  the  Moderator  call  a  special  meeting  ? 

There  is  no  sucli  special  provision  in  the  "  Form  of 
Government."  But  the  General  Assembly  determined 
(in  1796)  that  special  meetings  are  constitutional,  and 
confirmed  this  in  1829  and  1832,  and  the  N.  S.  Assembly 
in  1855.*  Judging  from  "  Form  of  Government,"  ch.  x., 
sects,  vii.  and  x.,  and  the  change  in  the  constitution  pro- 
posed in  1832,  it  would  seem  that  the  Moderator  of  Synod 
should  call  a  pro  re  nata  meeting  at  the  request  of  three 
Ministers  and  three  Elders,  and  that  these  Ministers  should 
not  be  all  from  the  same  Presbytery.  The  notice  should 
be  sent  to  all  the  Ministers  and  churches  of  the  Synod. 
The  notice  must  specify  the  object  of  the  meeting,  and 
nothing  can  be  done  which  is  not  specified  in  the  call.f 

Notwithstanding  the  above  decisions  recognizing  that 
pro  re  nata  meetings  of  Synod  were  "  in  accordance  with 
the  constitution  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,"  in  1874 
the  Assembly  disapproved  of  the  Synod  of  Michigan  for 
holding  a  pro  re  nata  meeting.  | 

III.  May  corresponding  members  be  received  ? 

'^The  same  rule  as  to  corresponding  members,  which  was 
laid  down  with  respect  to  the  Presbytery,  shall  apply  to  the 

Synod."   They  should  be  introduced  as  members  of 

Synod,  or  if  belonging  to  other  denominations  the  name 
of  the  ecclesiastical  body  with  which  they  are  connected 
should  be  mentioned  and  recorded.  § 

IV.  What  are  the  powers  of  Synod  ? 

(1)  "The  Synod  has  power  to  receive  and  issue  all  ap- 
peals regularly  brought  up  from  the  Presbyteries." 

*  Presbyterian  Dujeat,  p.  190;  Aaxcmhli/s  Digest,  p.  264. 

f  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  190;  Form  of  Government,  ch.  x.,  sect.  x. 

X  Minutes  G.  A.  1874,  p.  85. 

^  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  198.  See  p.  230. 


POWERS.  239 

(2)  "To  decide  all  references  made  to  them." 

(3)  "To  review  the  records  of  Preshyteines,  and  approve 
or  censure  them." 

(4)  "To  7'edress  whatever  has  been  done  by  Presbyteries 
contrary  to  order." 

(5)  "To  take  effectual  care  that  Presbyteries  observe  the 
constitution  of  the  Church." 

(6)  ^^To  erect  new  Presbyteries,  and  unite  or  divide  those 
which  were  before  erected." 

(7)  "Generally  to  take  such  order  with  respect  to  the  Pres- 
byteries, Sessions  and  people  under  their  care  as  rnay  be 
in  conformity  with  the  word  of  God  and  the  established  rules, 
and  which  tend  to  promote  the  edification  of  the  Oiurch." 

(8)  "To  propose  to  the  General  Assembly  for  their  adop- 
tion such  measures  as  may  be  of  common  advantage  to  the 
whole  Church." 

What  effect  has  the  decision  of  the  Synod  in  appeal 
cases  ? 

The  same  as  in  Presbytery.  Its  decisions  are  not  ad- 
visory, but  authoritative.  It  may  be  "  either  to  confirm 
or  reverse,  in  whole  or  in  part,  the  decision  of  the  infe- 
rior judicatory;  or  to  remit  the  cause  for  the  purpose  of 
amending  the  record,  should  it  appear  incorrect  or  de- 
fective, or  for  a  new  trial."*  In  1881  this  section  was 
changed,  making  the  Synod  in  certain  cases  a  court  of 
final  appeal,  "Its  decisions  on  appeals,  complaints  and 
references  which  do  not  affect  the  doctrine  or  constitution 
of  the  Church  being  final." '\     Appendix,  p.  526. 

Wherein  does  the  Synod  differ  from  the  lower  courts? 

It  is  a  court  of  appeal.  It  has  no  original  jurisdic- 
tion, either  over  Ministers,  as  the  Presbytery  has,  or 

*  Booh  of  Discipline,  ch.  vii.,  sect,  iii.,  sub-sect.  x. 
t  Minutes  G.  A.  1880,  p.  74 ;  1881,  p.  522. 


240  OF    THE    SYNOD. 

over  the  EWers  and  communicants,  as  the  Session  has.* 
It  cannot  institute  judicial  process,  f  and  can  consider 
such  only  on  review,  reference  or  complaint,  or  appeal 
from  the  Presbyteries.^ 

May  the  Synod  discipline  a  member  for  absence  ? 

The  Assembly  took  exceptions  to  a  resolution  of  a 
Synod  to  make  a  Minister  liable  to  suspension  without 
trial  if  absent  for  three  years  from  its  meeting  without 
sending  his  reasons.§  The  Synod  has  no  original  jur- 
isdiction over  Ministers  or  Elders.  If  the  members 
neglect  its  meetings  or  fail  in  their  duty,  they  must 
be  reported  to  the  courts  to  which  they  are  respon- 
sible.ll 

What  power  has  the  Synod  over  the  Presbyteries  ? 

The  power  of  "  review  and  control "  in  the  annual  ex- 
amination of  their  records — of  deciding  on  references, 
appeals  and  complaints  orderly  brought  from  the  Pres- 
byteries. The  Synod  may  change  the  boundaries  of  the 
Presbyteries.  Those  interested  should  be  consulted,  yet 
the  Synod  has  full  power  to  act  even  when  they  remon- 
strate.T[  It  may  cite  Presbyteries  that  are  charged  by 
common  fame  with  neglects,  irregularities,  disobedience, 
heretical  opinions  or  corrupt  practices.  If  the  wrong  be  an 
act  of  the  Presbytery,  that  court  may  be  censured  and  or- 
dered to  correct  the  evil.  If  the  wrong  be  in  the  churches 
or  INIinisters  or  Elders,  the  Synod  "shall  remit  the  whole 
matter  to  the  delinquent  judicatory,  with  a  direction  to 
take  it  up  and  dispose  of  it  in  a  constitutional  manner,  or 

*  Form  of  Oovernment,  chs.  ix.,  x.,  xi. ;  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  191, 
192.  t  See  p.  242. 

X  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  192;  Book  of  Discipline,  ch.  vii. 
§  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  199.  ||  See  pp.  162,  179. 

i  See  p.  178. 


TRIAL    BY   COMMTSSIOX.  241 

to  stay  all  further  proceedings  in  the  case,  as  circum- 
stances may  require."* 

Can  the  Synod  order  a  Presbytery  to  dissolve  a  pastoral 
relation  ? 

The  Presbytery  alone  can  form  or  dissolve  a  pastoral 
relation,  t  If  the  Presbytery  refuse  to  do  so,  the  decis- 
ion may  by  complaint  be  brought  before  Synod,  and  be 
re  versed.  I 

How  are  references,  appeals  and  complaints  to  be  consid- 
ered by  Synod? 

In  the  same  manner  as  in  Presbytery.§  The  Synod 
cannot  order  an  inferior  court  to  rehear  a  case  already 
decided  when  no  intimation  of  additional  evidence  is 
given.  "Nor  in  sending  back  a  case  can  the  Synod  pass 
by  the  Presbytery  in  which  the  case  has  once  been  adju- 
dicated." Ij  All  the  decisions  made  by  Synod  are  sub- 
ject to  review  by  the  General  Assembly.^  (Concerning 
appeals,  complaints  and  references,  see  p.  184.) 

May  Synod  try  an  appeal  by  commission  ? 

It  may  with  consent  of  parties.**  In  1880  the  As- 
sembly recognized  the  right  of  the  Synod  to  do  so.ff 
The  Southern  Church  makes  a  distinct  provision  for 
trial  by  commission :  "  The  Synod .  and  the  General  As- 
sembly may,  with  consent  of  parties,  commit  any  case  of 
trial  coming  before  them  on  appeal  to  the  judgment  of 
a  commission,  composed  of  others  than  members  of  the 
court  from  which  the  appeal  shall  come  up.  The  com- 
mission of  a  Synod  shall  consist  of  not  less  than  fifteen, 

*  Book  of  Discipline,  ch.  vii.,  sect,  i.,  sub-sects,  v.  and  vi. ;  Presbyte- 
rian Digest,  p.  541.  f  See  p.  202. 
X  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  193,  420.  §  See  p.  188. 
II  3nnutes  G.  A.  1878,  p.  34.  T[  See  p.  244. 
**  See  pp.  190,  218.  ff  Minutes  G.  A.  1880,  p.  65. 
21                                            Q 


242  OF   THE   SYNOD. 

of  whom  seveu  shall  be  Ruling  Elders ;  the  commission 
of  the  Assembly,  of  not  less  than  twenty-seven,  of  whom 
thirteen  shall  be  Ruling  Elders.  In  each  case  two-thirds 
of  the  commissioners  shall  be  a  quorum  to  attend  to  busi- 
ness. The  commission  shall  try  the  cause  in  the  manner 
prescribed  by  the  Rules  of  Discipline,  and  in  rendering 
judgment  shall  make  a  full  statement  of  the  case,  which 
shall  be  submitted  to  the  court  for  its  action  as  its  judg- 
ment of  the  cause."  * 

Wliat  power  has  the  Synod  over  members  of  an  extinct 
Presbytery  ? 

Ministers  of  an  extinct  Presbytery,  while  in  transitu, 
charged  with  an  offence,  may  be  refused  admittance  to 
the  Presbytery  to  which  they  have  been  dismissed,  and 
should  be  if  there  be  no  prospect  of  an  impartial  and 
efficient  trial ;  in  which  case  they  are  under  the  direction 
of  the  Synod,  f 

What  power  has  the  Synod  in  its  relation  to  the  General 
Assembly? 

It  may  send  overtures  for  the  consideration  of  the  As- 
sembly, enforced  by  the  ai)proval  of  the  Synod.  Some- 
times several  Synods  agree  severally  to  endorse  the  same 
overture.  Sometimes  one  or  more  Presbyteries  ask  the 
Synod  to  add  its  approbation  to  overtures  which  they 
have  sent  to  the  Assembly.     Appendix,  p.  527. 

Wiat  relation  has  the  Synod  to  the  Boards  of  the 
Chui'ch? 

These  are  the  creation  of  the  Assembly,  and  are  ac- 
countable to  it.t  In  1880  the  Assembly  resolved  "  that 
the  Boards  of  the  Church  be  directed  to  make  annually, 
to  each  of  the  Synods,  detailed  reports  of  their  work 

*  Book  of  Church  Order,  cli.  v.,  sect,  vii.,  sub-sect.  iii. 

t  Fresbylerian  Digest,  p.  152.  J  See  p.  887. 


MEETINGS.  243 

within  its  bounds ;  and  that  each  Synod,  carefully  con- 
sidering its  own  condition  and  wants,  be  directed  to  re- 
port to  the  General  Assembly  any  suggestions  or  propo- 
sitions with  reference  to  the  work  of  the  Boards  within 
its  bounds  as  may  seem  to  it  wise ;  and  that  these  sug- 
gestions or  propositions  be  referred  by  the  General  As- 
sembly to  its  Standing  Committees  respectively."* 

V.  How  often  shall  tlie  Synod  meet  ? 

"At  least  once  each  year."  Adjourned  meetings  may 
be  held  at  the  will  of  the  Synod,  and  pro  re  nata  meet- 
ings as  above  described. f 

How  shall  its  meeting  be  opened? 

''At  the  opening  of  which  a  sermon  shall  he  delivered  by 
the  Moderator,  or  in  case  of  his  absence  by  some  other  mem- 
ber." This  sermon  is  deemed  necessary.  Synods  have 
been  reproved  by  the  General  Assembly  for  its  omission, 
and  even  its  postponement  "to  the  following  evening."! 

How  shall  its  Sessions  be  opened  ? 

" Every  particular  Session  shall  be  opened  and  closed  with 
prayer."  The  record  must  notice  the  fact.  J  A  recess  does 
not  imply  the  close  of  a  Session.  § 

How  shall  the  Synod  close  its  meeting  ? 

"  With  singing,  prayer  and  the  apostolic  benedic- 
tion." || 

VI.  What  record  shall  the  Synod  keep? 

"It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Synod  to  keep  a  full  and  fair 
record  of  its  proceedings."  This  must  include  the  rea- 
sons for  its  decisions.  In  1874  the  Assembly  declared 
"  it  is  contrary  to  the  spirit  and  principles  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church,  and  subversive  of  the  true  design  of 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  1880,  p.  74 ;  Appendix,  pp.  527,  539.     f  See  p.  238. 
X  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  193.  I  Minutes  O.  A.  1877,  p.  575, 

II  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  193;  General  Rules  for  Judicatories,  xliii. 


244  OF   THE   SYNOD. 

ecclesiastical  discipline,  for  a  superior  judicatory  to  com- 
pel an  inferior  court  to  reverse  its  decision,  rendered  after 
full,  fair  and  impartial  trial,  without  assigning  and  pla- 
cing on  record  some  specific  reason  for  such  reversal."  * 
In  1878  the  Assembly  made  exceptions  to  its  approval 
of  the  minutes  of  a  Synod  because,  although  the  reasons 
of  vote  on  a  complaint  were  given,  "  the  subject-matter 
of  the  said  complaint  is  not  recorded.  This  defect  dis- 
ables the  Assembly  from  deciding  as  to  the  validity  of 
the  reasons  given  for  the  vote  of  the  Synod  in  the  case." 
"It  does  not  appear  from  their  records  whether  the 
Synod  took  further  action  upon  said  complaint  than 
to  vote  upon  it  and  give  reasons  for  that  vote ;  thereby 
leaving  the  Assembly  in  doubt  whether  the  Presbytery 
complained  of  was  censured,  or  whether  the  matter  of 
the  complaint  was  referred  back  to  them  for  rcadjudi- 
cation,  or  whether  the  Synod  dropped  it  entirely."  f 
The  O.  S.  Assembly  decided  that  absentees  must  be  re- 
corded, judicial  cases  stated,  and  overtures  answered  de- 
scribed. The  pages  must  be  numbered.  The  record 
should  show  all  changes  in  the  Presbyteries  and  adopted 
reports,  and  must  be  approved  by  the  Synod  and  attest- 
ed by  the  Stated  Clerk.|     Appendix,  p.  528. 

How  often  must  the  records  be  inspected  ? 

The  Synod  shall  "submit  them  annually  to  the  inspec- 
tion of  the  General  Assembly,  and  report  to  the  Assembly 
the  numbers  of  its  Presbyteries  and  of  the  members  and 
alterations  of  the  Presbyteries."  The  object  of  this  in- 
spection is  the  same  as  that  of  the  examination  by  Pres- 
bytery of  the  records  of  Session. §  If  the  records  be  not 
presented,  the  Synod  may  be  reminded  by  the  General 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  1S74,  p.  86.  t  Tbid.,  187S,  p.  60. 

X  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  194-199.  §  Bee  p.  167. 


THE   GENERAL    ASSEMBLY.  245 

Assembly  of  this  neglect  of  duty,  or  the  Synod  may  be 
directed  to  call  their  Stated  Clerk  to  account  for  not  hav- 
ing sent  their  records  to  the  Assembly.* 

What  other  reports  must  the  Synod  make? 

(1)  A  report  of  all  the  changes  in  the  Presbyteries. 
(2)  A  statistical  report  of  the  Ministers,  churches,  Li- 
centiates, Candidates  within  their  bounds,  and  how  dis- 
tributed, the  changes  in  the  number  and  arrangements 
of  their  Presbyteries,  the  names  of  the  Stated  Clerks  of 
the  Presbyteries,  the  place  and  hour  of  the  next  stated 
meeting,  and  the  name  of  the  Moderator  and  Stated 
Clerk  of  Synod.f  (3)  A  narrative  of  the  state  of  re- 
ligion within  its  bounds.  This  must  be  sent  to  the  As- 
sembly and  recorded  in  the  minutes  of  Synod.f 


CHAPTER  XII. 

or   THE   GENERAL    ASSEMBLY. 

I.  What  is  the  General  Assembly? 

It  "  is  the  highest  judicatory  of  the  Presbyterian  Church" 

In  what  sense  is  it  the  highest  judicatory  ? 

It  is  the  highest  and  final  court  of  appeal.  Judicial 
cases  arising  in  the  Session  may  be  rejudged  in  the  Pres- 
bytery, and  again  in  the  Synod,  these  bodies  representing 
larger  and  still  larger  portions  of  the  Church.  When 
such  cases  are  brought  before  the  General  Assembly, 
w^hich  represents  the  whole  Church,  they  are  finally  dis- 
posed of.  Even  future  Assemblies  cannot  reverse  the 
decisions  thus  given.| 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  196.  \  i^i-d-,  P-  199- 

X  Book  of  Discipline,  ch.  vii.     See  p.  255. 
21  * 


246  OF  THE   GENERAL   ASSEMBLY. 

What  does  it  represent? 

"  It  shall  represent  in  one  body  all  the  pariieular  churches 
of  this  denomination.^'  These  churches,  however,  are  rep- 
resented by  delegates  chosen  by  the  Presbyteries  to  which 
they  belong.* 

What  is  its  legal  title  ? 

It  ^^  shall  bear  the  title  of  The  General  Assembly  op 
THE  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States 
OF  America." 

The  early  Presbyterian  churches  in  this  country  formed 
about  1704  "The  Presbytery."  It  claimed  jurisdiction 
"alike  unlimited  by  a  written  constitution  and  uncon- 
trolled by  a  superior."  Its  proper  title  was  "  The  Gen- 
eral Presbytery."  In  1716  it  divided  itself  into  four 
subordinate  Presbyteries,  and  the  General  Presbytery 
assumed  the  title  of  Synod.  In  1788  the  Synod  di- 
vided itself  into  four  Synods,  and  it  was  resolved  "  that 
out  of  the  body  of  these  Synods  a  General  Assembly  shall 
be  constituted,  .  .  .  and  that  the  judicatory  thus  consti- 
tuted shall  bear  the  style  and  title  of  the  General  Assem- 
bly of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States  of 
America."  f  At  the  disruption  in  1838  each  branch 
claimed  that  its  highest  court  was  the  true  successor  of 
the  General  Assembly  of  1837,  and  therefore  had  the 
right  to  this  title.  The  civil  courts  decided  in  favor  of 
that  branch  which  was  commonly  called  the  Old  School.^ 
At  the  reu?iion  in  1869  the  old  title  was  retained,  and  the 
Assembly  of  1870  was  declared  to  be  the  true  successor 
of  the  Assemblies  of  1869  of  the  Old  and  New  School 
churches.§    In  1858  the  Southern  Synods  of  the  N.  S.  As- 

*  See  p.  506.  f  Assembli/s  Digest,  pp.  276-280. 

t  Ibid.,  pp.  795-800;  New  Digest,  pp.  607-^13. 
§  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  90-98. 


RADICAL    PRINCIPLES.  247 

sembly  separated  themselves  from  that  body,  and  formed 
a  Church  whose  highest  court  was  called  "TTte  United 
Synod  of  the  Presbyterian  Church."  *  In  1861  the  South- 
ern Synods,  in  connection  with  the  O.  S.  Assembly,  or- 
ganized themselves  into  a  separate  Church,  whose  highest 
judicatory  now  bears  the  title  of  "The  Genei'ol  Assembly 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States."  f  The 
United  Synod  united  with  the  Southern  Assembly  in  1864. 
What  are  the  radical  principles  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  polity  and  discipline? 

1.  "The  several  different  congregations  of  believers, 
taken  collectively,  constitute  one  Church  of  Christ,  called 
emphatically  the  Church." 

2.  "A  larger  part  of  the  Church,  or  a  representation 
of  it,  should  govern  a  smaller,  or  determine  matters  of 
controversy  which  arise  therein." 

3.  "  In  like  manner  a  representation  of  the  whole 
should  govern  and  determine  in  regard  to  every  part, 
and  to  all  the  parts  united ;  that  is,  that  a  majority  shall 
govern,  and  consequently  that  appeals  may  be  carried  from 
lower  to  higher  judicatories  till  they  be  finally  decided  by 
the  collected  wisdom  and  united  voice  of  the  whole  Ch  urch." 

"  For  these  principles,  and  this  procedure,  the  example 
of  the  Apostles  and  the  practice  of  the  primitive  Church 
are  considered  as  authority.  (See  Acts  15  : 1-29,  and  the 
proofs  adduced  under  the  last  three  chapters.)"! 

When  was  the  first  General  Assembly  held? 

In  1789,  on  the  third  Thursday  in  May,  at  11  A.  M.,  in 
the  Second  Presbyterian  Church  in  Philadelphia.  Usage 
has  fixed  the  above  as  the  time  for  the  annual  meeting. 
The  Assembly  met   in   Philadelphia  from    1789   until 

*  New  Digest,  p.  565.  f  Book  of  Church  Order,  ch.  v.,  sect.  vi. 

X  Form  of  Government,  ch.  xii.,  note.     See  p.  10. 


248  OF  THE   GENERAL   ASSEMBLY. 

1843,  except  five  times,  and  since  1843  it  has  accepted 
invitations  from  year  to  year,  and  sometimes  has  selected 
a  place  of  meeting  without  an  invitation.*  A  committee 
was  often  appointed  to  report  on  invitations  or  to  pro- 
pose a  place  of  meeting.  In  1881  it  was  resolved  that 
the  Moderator  and  the  Stated  and  Permanent  Clerks  be 
appointed  a  committee  to  report  from  year  to  year  on  the 
place  of  the  meeting  of  the  next  ensuing  Assembly.!  The 
first  Assembly  was  opened  with  a  sermon  by  Rev.  John 
Witherspoon,  D.  D.,  who  acted  as  Moderator  until  the 
election  of  Rev.  John  Rogers,  D.  D.,  after  the  organiza- 
tion. It  consisted  of  twenty-three  Ministers  and  eleven 
Elders.  "  The  Presbytery  "  of  1 704  was  really  a  General 
Assembly.*  The  first  General  Assembly  in  Scotland  con- 
sisted of  six  Ministers  and  thirty-four  other  persons.^ 

n.  Of  whom  shall  the  General  Assembly  consist  ? 

"  Of  an  equal  delegation  of  Bishops  and  Elders  from  each 
Presbytery,  in  the  following  proportion:  viz.,  each  Presby- 
tev'y  consisting  of  not  more  than  twenty-four  Ministet^s  shall 
send  one  3Iinister  and  one  Elder;  and  each  Presbytery 
consisting  of  more  than  twentyfour  31inisters  shall  send 
two  Ministers  and  two  Elders;  and  in  the  like  pi'opoyiion 
for  every  tiventyfour  3Iinisters  in  any  Presbytery;  and 
these  delegates  so  appointed  shall  be  styled  Commissioners 
to  the  General  Assembly  J' 

Has  this  always  been  the  ratio  of  representation  ? 

In  1786  it  was  determined  that  each  Presbytery  of  not 
more  than  six  Ministers  should  send  one  Minister  and 
one  Elder,  and  those  which  had  more  than  six  and  less 
than  twelve  should  send  two  Ministers  and  two  Elders. 
In  1819  the  ratio  was  changed  by  substituting  the  words 

*  Assembly's  Digest,  pp.  280,  854 ;  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  200.  See 
p.  15,  t  Minutes  G.  A.  ISSl,  p.  591.         %  Assembly's  Digest,  p.  276. 


RATIO   OF    REPRESENTATION.  249 

nine  for  six,  and  eighteen  for  twelve.  In  1826  these  num- 
bers were  changed  to  twelve  and  twenty-four.  In  1833  the 
present  ratio  was  adopted.*  Since  the  reunion  in  1869 
the  General  Assembly  has  been  so  large  that  a  further 
change  seemed  necessary.  Several  propositions  have  been 
made,  but  as  yet  (1881)  no  plan  has  been  approved  by 
the  Presbyteries.f  These  plans  were  (1)  tb  increase  the 
ratio  of  representation ;  or  (2)  to  retain  the  present 
ratio,  but  omit  from  the  constituency  all  Ministers 
except  Pastors  and  Missionaries;  or  (3)  to  require  the 
smaller  Presbyteries  to  be  represented  alternately  each 
year  by  a  Minister  or  an  Elder,  and  the  other  Presbyte- 
ries for  every  twenty  Ministers  by  one  commissioner ;  and 
when  more  than  one  is  allowed  to  a  Presbytery,  they  shall 
be  as  nearly  as  possible  equally  chosen  from  the  Ministers 
and  Elders ;  or  (4)  to  substitute  synodical  for  presbyterial 
representation ;  or  (5)  to  increase  the  present  ratio  to  one 
Minister  and  Elder  for  every  forty  Ministers,  and  the  con- 
stituency to  be  only  those  actually  engaged  in  minis- 
terial work ;  or  (6)  the  basis  of  representation  to  be  the 
number  of  Ministers  and  communicants  combined,  two 
delegates  to  represent  every  twenty-five  hundred.  New 
Presbyteries  not  to  be  represented  until  they  shall  num- 
ber five  hundred  Ministers  and  communicants.f  In  1879 
the  whole  question  of  reduced  representation  was  indef- 
initely postponed.!  In  1881  a  change  was  made  in  the 
constitution  to  relieve  the  Assembly  of  part  of  its  work 
by  reducing  the  number  of  the  Synods,  and  making  them 
in  most  cases  final  courts  of  appeal. § 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  212. 

t  Minutes  G.  A.  1875,  p.  522;  1876,  pp.  69,  73;  1877,  pp.  507,  552; 
1878,  pp.  39,  63 ;  1879,  pp.  576,  578  ;  1880,  p.  73. 
X  Ibid.,  1879,  p.  578.        §  Ibid.,  1880,  p.  73.  See  p.  239. 


250  OF   THE   GENERAL   ASSEMBLY. 

What  is  the  rule  concemiiig  corresponding  members  ? 

The  "  Form  of  Goverument "  makes  no  provision  for 
tiicni.  Prior  to  1791  they  were  occasionally  received, 
but  in  that  year  the  Assembly  declared  the  practice  un- 
authorized and  inexpedient.  Since  then  they  have  not 
been  received.  The  New  School  Assembly  in  1858  gave 
all  the  privileges  of  corresponding  members  to  the  Sec- 
retaries of  Permanent  Committees  and  to  the  Clerk  of 
the  Assembly.  In  the  reunited  Church  in  1870  the  Sec- 
retaries of  the  Boards  were  accorded  these  privileges  "  in 
discussions  bearing  upon  the  interest  of  the  Boards  which 
they  severally  represent."  *  Delegates  from  corresponding 
body  are  received,  but  cannot  vote.  In  1880  the  Assembly 
replied  to  visitors  from  the  Woman's  National  Christian 
Temperance  Union,  "that  friendly  delegates  or  visitors 
should  be  received  only  from  corresponding  ecclesiastical 
bodies."  t  The  Committee  on  Correspondence  in  1881 
reported  "  that  the  Assembly  have  enacted  a  rule  that  the 
practice  of  sending  delegates  to  bodies  represented  in  the 
Presbyterian  General  Alliance  is  no  longer  necessary, 
and  therefore  no  delegates  are  nominated  to  them."  J 

What  special  arrangement  was  made  with  the  General 
Association  of  Connecticut  in  1794  ? 

In  1792  it  was  agreed  that  the  General  Assembly  and 
the  General  Association  of  Connecticut  should  each  ap- 
point a  committee  of  three  members,  "who  shall  have  the 
right  to  sit  in  the  other's  general  meeting,  and  make  such 
communications  as  shall  be  directed  by  their  respective 
constituents,  and  deliberate  on  such  matters  as  may  come 
before  the  body,  but  have  no  right  to  vote."  In  1794  it 
was  resolved  that  these  delegates  have  also  the  right  "  to 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  212,  213. 

t  Minutes  G.  A.  18S0,  p.  42.        %  Ibid.,  1S81,  p.  551.    See  p.  265. 


QUORUM.  251 

vote  on  all  questions  which  may  be  determined  by  either 
of  them."  *  In  1804  a  similar  agreement  was  ratified  with 
the  General  Convention  of  Vermont,  in  1810  with  the 
General  Association  of  New  Hampshire,  in  1811  with 
the  General  Association  of  Massachusetts,  in  1828  with 
the  General  Conference  of  Maine  (except  that  the  dele- 
gates shall  not  have  the  right  to  vote),  in  1831  with  the 
Evangelical  Consociation  of  Rhode  Island.*  In  1827  the 
General  Assembly  sent  a  communication  to  the  Congre- 
gational churches  of  Massachusetts,  New  Hampshire  and 
Vermont,  stating  that  the  right  to  vote  given  to  these 
delegates  was  inconsistent  with  our  "  Form  of  Govern- 
ment." The  relations  and  rights  of  the  delegates  from 
the  Congregational  churches  in  Connecticut  were  modi- 
fied by  the  Plan  of  Union  adopted  in  1802.t  Since  1830 
delegates  from  other  bodies  have  not  had  the  right  to 
vote.| 

ni.  What  is  a  quorum  of  the  General  Assembly  ? 

"Any  fourteen  or  more  of  these  commissioners,  one-half 
of  tchom  shall  be  Ministers,  being  met  on  the  day  and  at 
the  place  appointed,  shall  be  a  quorum  for  the  transaction 
of  business."  If  a  quorum  be  not  present,  the  commis- 
sioners may  adjourn  from  time  to  time,  as  in  case  of  less 
than  a  quorum  of  Presbytery  and  Synod. §  The  quorum 
may,  as  in  Presbytery  and  Synod,  be  formed  without  an 
Elder.  1 1  The  Southern  Church  requires  to  form  a  quo- 
rum "eighteen  commissioners,  of  whom  one-half  shall 
be  Ministers,  and  at  least  five  shall  be  Ruling  Elders."^ 

*  Assembly's  Digest,  pp.  513,  514 ;  Presbyterian  DigeM,  p.  268. 

t  See  p.  261.    Assembly's  Digest,  pp.  519,  570. 

X  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  213. 

?  See  pp.  183,  236.     General  Rules  for  Judicatories,  iii.   Seep.  491. 

II  See  pp.  182,  235.  ^f  Book  of  Church  Order,  ch.  v.,  sect.  vi. 


252  OF   THE    GENERAL    ASSEMBLY. 

rv.  What  are  tlie  powers  of  the  General  Assembly  ? 
"  The  General  Assembly  shall — 

1.  '^Receive  and  issue  all  appeals,  complaints  and  rej- 
erenccs  that  shall  affect  the  doctrine  or  constitution  of  the 
Church,  which  may  be  regularly  brought  before  them  from 
the  inferior  judicatories.'' 

2.  "They  shall  review  the  I'ecords  of  every  Synod,  and 
approve  or  censure  thcmJ' 

3.  "They  shall  give  their  advice  and  instruction  in  all 
cases  submitted  to  them  in  conformity  with  the  constitution 
of  the  Church." 

4.  "  They  shall  constitute  the  bond  of  union,  peace, 
correspondence  and  mutual  confidence  among  all  our 
churches'' 

(For  other  powers  see  p.  254.) 
How  does  the  General  Assembly  differ  from  the  lower 
courts  ? 

1.  It  represents  the  whole  Church. 

2.  It  is  the  highest  and  final  court  of  appeal. 

3.  It  alone  can  interpret  the  laws  of  tlie  Church, 

4.  It  alone  can  make  or  change  (with  consent  of  the 
Presbyteries)  constitutional  laws. 

5.  It  is  the  bond  of  union  of  the  churches  and  the 
agent  of  correspondence  with  other  denominations. 

6.  It  superintends  the  benevolence  of  the  Church. 

7.  It  provides  for  the  increase  of  the  Miuistry. 

8.  It  is  not  a  permanent  body ;  it  adjourns  sine  die, 
calling  a  new  Assembly  to  meet  the  next  year. 

Has  it  any  original  jurisdiction  ? 

"The  Assembly  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  has  ever 
claimed  and  exercised  original  jurisdiction,  acting  as  the 
Presbytery  of  the  whole  Church."*  In  a  few  cases  our 
*  Church  Puliiy,  p.  415. 


APPEALS.  253 

Assembly  has  cited  courts  and  Ministers.     This  power 
was  denied  by  the  N.  S.  Assembly  in  1840  and  1856. 
The  O.  S.  Assembly  in   1866  expelled  a  commissioner 
for  publishin^^  an  article  severely  reflecting  upon  another 
member  and  upon  the  character  of  the  courts,*     See  also 
pp.  256-258. 
What  appeals,  etc.  may  it  receive  ? 
In  ordinary  cases  only  those  which  come  from  Synods. 
If,    however,  the   complaint   be    from    one   Presbytery 
against  another  belonging  to  another  Synod,  or  in  pe- 
culiar circumstances,  the  appeal  or  complaint  may  come 
directly  to  the  General  Assembly.     But  such  cases  are 
very  rare,  and  unwillingly  entertained.f     In   1881  the 
Synod  was  made  a  court  of  final  appeal  in  some  cases,J 
and  the  clause  was  added  to  this  section  limiting  appeals, 
complaints  and  references  to  be  brought  before  the  As- 
sembly to  those  "  that  affect  the  doctrine  and  constitution 
of  the  Church:'  §     Appendix,  p.  528. 
What  is  the  court  of  final  appeal  ? 
A  court  whose  decisions   cannot  be  reviewed.     The 
Synod  in  some  cases,  and  the  General  Assembly  in  others, 
are  courts  of  final  appeal.  ||     It  also  denotes  a  new  court 
proposed  to  the  Assembly  in  1873.     The  next  year  a 
majority  and  a  minority  report  were  made  and  referred 
to  the  next  Assembly.     It  was  reported  each  year  until 
1878,  when  the  Assembly  appointed  a  special  committee 
to  revise  the  "Porm  of  Government"  and  "Book  of 
Discipline,"  and  referred  to  it  these  reports  on  the  Court 
of  Final  Appeal.     In  1880  this  committee  printed  the 
"  Revised  Book  of  Discipline,"  which  they  reported  to 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  127,  277. 

t  Ihid.,  pp.  555-557.  X  See  p.  239. 

§  Minutes  O.  A.  1880,  p.  74 ;  1881,  p.  523.  |1  See  p.  255. 

22 


254  OF   THE    GENERAL    ASSEMBLY. 

the  Assembly  and  sent  to  Ministers  and  Sessions,  to  show 
the  progress  made  and  to  invite  criticisms.  In  1881  they 
presented  a  "  second  revision/'  asking  to  be  continued, 
that  they  might  perfect  the  work.  In  this  revision  of 
the  "Book  of  Discipline"  the  proposed  Court  of  Final 
Appeal  is  modified,  and  becomes  "The  Judicial  Com- 
mission," which  shall  sit  during  the  sessions  of  the  As- 
sembly, report  on  all  appeals,  etc.,  presenting  a  formal 
finding  of  facts,  and  enter  judgment,  which  shall  be- 
come final  on  the  approbation  of  the  Assembly.  The 
committee  were  required  to  continue  their  work  and 
present  their  complete  report  to  the  Assembly  of 
1882.* 

May  the  Assembly  try  cases  by  a  commission  ? 

(See  pp.  190,  218,  241  and  256.)     Appendix,  p.  528. 

How  often  must  the  synodical  records  be  examined  ? 

Every  year.  If  not  presented,  the  Assembly  may  re- 
quire the  Synod  to  censure  its  Stated  Clerk.f  This  ex- 
amination is  made  by  a  committee,  who  report  the  result 
to  the  Assembly  for  approval.  In  1880  it  was  deter- 
mined that  hereafter  the  Committee  on  Synodical  Rec- 
ords shall  consist  each  of  five  members,  instead  of  two, 
as  was  formerly  the  custom.  J 

V.  What  other  powers  has  the  Assembly  ? 

"To  the  General  Assembly  also  belongs  the  power — 

5.  "  Of  deciding  in  all  controversies  respecting  doctrine 
and  discipline." 

6.  ^^  Of  reproving,  learning  or  hearing  testimony  against 
error  in  doctrine,  or  immorality  in  practice,  in  any  church, 
Presbytery  or  Synod." 

*  Minutes  O.  A.  1874,  pp.  69, 164 ;  1877,  pp.  571,  572 ;  18S0,  p.  36 ; 
1881,  pp.  528,  573.     See  p.  274.     See  Second  Revision  of  B.  of  D. 
t  See  p.  244.  i  Minutes  G.  A.  1880,  p.  82. 


AUTHORITY.  255 

7.  "Of  erecting  new  Synods  when  it  may  be  judged 
necessary." 

8.  "Of  superintending  the  concerns  of  the  whole 
Church." 

9.  "Of  corresponding  with  foreign  churches  on  such 
terms  as  may  be  agreed  upon  by  the  Assembly  and  the 
corresponding  body." 

10.  "Of  suppressing  schismatical  contentions  and  dis- 
putatioois." 

11.  "And,  in  general,  of  recommending  and  attempting 
refcyrmation  of  manners,  and  the  promotion  of  charity, 
truth  and  holiness  through  all  the  churches  under  their 
care." 

Can  the  Assembly  answer  questions  in  "thesi"  ? 

"  It  does  not  appear  that  the  constitution  ever  designed 
that  the  General  Assembly  should  ever  take  up  abstract 
cases  and  decide  on  them,  especially  when  the  object  ap- 
pears to  be  to  bring  these  decisions  to  bear  on  particular 
individuals  not  judicially  before  the  Assembly."'^ 

Wliat  authority  have  the  decisions  of  the  Assembly  ? 

Even  its  recommendations  are  of  authority,  coming  as 
they  do  from  a  body  representing  the  whole  Church.  Its 
recommendations  concerning  the  Boards  are  obligatory.f 
Its  replies  to  overtures  are  authoritative  interpretations 
of  the  constitution.  Its  testimony  on  doctrine  and  mo- 
rality is  the  Church's  declaration  of  the  meaning  of  the 
"  Confession  of  Faith,"  and  its  application.  And  its  ju- 
dicial decisions  are  final  and  obligatory  in  all  similar 
cases.  No  later  Assembly  can  reverse  its  judicial  acts 
or  revise  its  proceedings.  A  manifest  error  may  be 
corrected.J 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  217.  f  Ihid.,  pp.  131,  132. 

X  Ibid.,  pp.  533,  534. 


256  OF   THE    GENERAL    ASSEMBLY. 

How  are  controversies  respecting  doctrine  and  discipline 
to  be  brought  before  the  Assembly  ? 

By  revieWj  reference,  appeal  or  complaint.*  Before 
the  reunion  all  appeals,  etc.  were  brought  before  the  As- 
sembly itself,  except  in  a  few  cases.  Now,  owing  to  the 
size  of  the  Assembly  and  the  increasing  press  of  busi- 
ness, they  are,  with  consent  of  parties,  referred  to  com- 
missions appointed  by  the  Assembly.f 

Concerning  what  subjects  has  the  Assembly  borne  testi- 
mony ? 

Heresies  and  imperfect  statements  of  doctrine,  expli- 
cation of  doctrines,  testimony  against  certain  disorders 
and  irregularities,  slavery,  civil  war,  state  of  the  coun- 
try, duty  of  citizens,  the  authority  of  civil  government, 
the  assassination  of  the  President,  the  power  of  the  As- 
sembly in  determining  lawful  judicatories,  the  validity 
of  the  election  of  Elders,  intemperance,  the  Sabbath, 
vices  and  immoralities,  revivals,  divorce,  infanticide, 
operas,  polygamy,  use  of  opium,  etc.| 

Has  the  Assembly  any  direct  power  over  Synods  ? 

It  determines  their  formation  and  boundaries.  At 
the  reunion  the  Assembly,  according  to  the  concurrent 
declarations,  erected  fifty-one  Synods.  Since  that  time 
new  Synods  have  been  formed  on  petition  of  Presby- 
teries. If  the  Presbyteries  interested  have  not  been 
consulted  the  petition  is  rejected. §  The  Synods  were  re- 
organized in  1881.11  The  Assembly  may  dissolve  a 
Synod  and  distribute  its  Presbyteries.^f     It  may  order  a 

*  Book  of  Discipline,  ch.  vii. 
f  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  564.     See  p.  218. 

X  Presbyterian   Digest,   pp.   218-250,    300-325,   475-495,    631-639; 
Minutes  G.  A.  1876,  p.  27  ;  1879,  pp.  586,  607,  625 ;  1881,  pp.  548,  549. 
?  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  182-188;  Minutes  O.  A.  1875,  p  505. 
II  See  p.  234.  ^  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  263. 


AUTHORITY   OVER  SYXOD   AND    PRESBYTERIES.    257 

Synod  to  meet  or  may  change  its  time  or  place  of  meet- 
ing.* It  may  require  a  Synod  to  examine  the  state  of 
religion  in  its  bounds,  and  report  the  next  year.  It  must 
examine  and  review  the  records  of  Synod.f  It  may 
cite  Synods  to  appear  and  answer  charges  of  irregular- 
ities in  doctrine,  government  or  discipline,  and  disown 
those  -which  have  departed  from  the  standards  of  the 
Church.t 

Has    the   Assembly  any   direct  power   over   Presby- 
teries ? 

It  may  erect,  modify,  change  and  dissolve  Presbyte- 
ries.    In  1802  it  divided  the  Presbytery  of  Albany  into 
three  new  Presbyteries  without  the  proposal  being  first 
brought  before  the  Synod,  but  simply  on  the  petition  of 
the  Presbytery.     It  declared,  however,  that  this  act  was 
"  not  to  be  considered  as  forming  a  precedent  for  future 
conduct."     In  1805,  1826  and  1827  Presbyteries  were 
formed  by  the  Assembly  on  petition  of  Ministers  and 
churches.     In  1834  it  was  done  against  the  decision  of 
the  Synod,  the  General  Assembly  claiming  the  right  un- 
der the  constitution  to  determine  the  bounds  of  Presby- 
teries (1)  when  the  question  was  brought  by  complaint 
or  appeal;   (2)  under  extraordinary  circumstances;    (3) 
as  being  the  highest  judicatory  of  the  Church.§     This 
power  was  exercised  both  by  the  O.  S.  and  N.  S.  Assem- 
blies several  times,  and  by  the  reunited  Church. ||     The 
Assembly  may  legalize  the  act  of  less  than  a  quorum  of 
Presbytery.^     It  can  define  the   succession  of  Presby- 
teries.**    Appendix,  pp.  523,  526. 
*  See  p.  237.  t  See  p.  244. 

X  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  541 ;  Assembly's  Digest,  pp.  726-744. 
§  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  263,  264. 

II  Ibid.,  p.  266;  3Iinutes  G.  A.  1874,  P-  83 ;  1873,  p.  505. 
^  See  p.  183.  **  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  267. 

22  *  R 


258  OF    THE    GENERAL    ASSEMBLY. 

What  direct  power  has  the  General  Assembly  over  Ses- 
sions and  churches  ? 

It  can  transfer  them  from  one  Presbytery  and  Synod 
to  another.  This  is  done  on  petition  from  the  church, 
the  Presbyteries  having  been  consulted.  Such  a  change 
can  be  made  by  the  Synod  when  both  Presbyteries  in- 
terested belong  to  the  same  Synod.  But  when  two 
Synods  are  involved,  the  question  should  be  decided 
by  the  General  Assembly.*  It  may  order  a  Presbytery 
to  dissolve  a  pastoral  relation  when  the  case  has  been 
regularly  brought  before  it,  and  the  peace  and  prosperity 
of  the  Church  render  this  course  advisable.f 

What  power  has  the  Assembly  over  Ministers  ? 

It  may  transfer  them  from  one  Presbytery  to  another. 
This  is  involved  in  the  power  to  divide  Presbyteries. 
This  has  been  done  by  the  O.  S.  and  the  N.  S.  Assem- 
blies.! The  O.  S.  Assembly  transferred  a  Minister  on 
petition  when  the  Presbytery  was  without  a  quorum  of 
attending  Ministers.§  And  again,  to  increase  the  num- 
ber of  a  Presbytery  wliich  had  failed,  from  want  of  a 
quorum,  in  two  attempts  to  organize. || 

What  power  has  the  Assembly  to  establish  relations  with 
other  denominations  of  the  Christian  Church? 

The  lower  courts  may  receive  Ministers  of  other  bodies 
as  corresponding  members,  but  only  as  individual  Ministers. 
This  does  not  imply  any  authoritative  conference,  the  re- 
sults of  which  are  to  be  binding  on  the  diiferent  denom- 
inations. The  Minister  thus  recognized  may  help  the 
Presbytery  or  Synod  with  his  advice  in  discussion  of  our 
own  affairs.    The  Assembly,  as  the  highest  court  and  rep- 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  266;  Minutes  G.  A.  1874,  P-  82. 

t  Minutes  O.  A.  1876,  p.  64,  %  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  265,  266. 

g  Minutes  G.  A.  1808,  p.  268.  ||  Tbir].,  p.  280. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  259 

resenting  the  whole  body,  is  the  only  proper  or  possible 
organ  of  communication,  correspondence  and  co-opera- 
tion with  other  churches.*  The  Assembly  can  determine 
when,  on  what  terms,  and  to  what  extent  this  correspond- 
ence is  expedient,  and  when  it  shall  terminate.f 

With  what  bodies  is  the  Assembly  at  present  in  corre- 
spondence ? 

1.  General  Assembly  of  the  Free  Church  of  Scot- 
land. 

2.  General  Assembly  of  the  Church  of  Scotland. 

3.  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in 
Ireland. 

4.  Synod  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Great  Britain 
and  Ireland. 

5.  General  Assembly  of  the  Canada  Presbyterian 
Church. 

6.  Synod  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Canada  in 
connection  with  the  Church  of  Scotland. 

7.  General  Synod  of  the  Reformed  Church  in 
America. 

8.  General  Assembly  of  the  United  Presbyterian 
Church  of  North  America. 

9.  General  Synod  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church 
of  the  United  States. 

10.  Synod  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  Lower 
Provinces  of  British  North  America  and  the  Synod  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  in  connection  with  the  Church 
of  Scotland. 

11.  General  Assembly  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
Church. 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  267. 

fibid.,  pp.  47-98,  267-276;  Assembly's  Digest,  pp.  506-559;  Minutes 
G.  A.  1875,  pp.  480,  484-486 ;  1876,  pp.  18,  55. 


260  OF   THE  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY. 

12.  General  Assembly  of  the  Welsh  Presbyterian 
Church. 

13.  General  Synod  of  the  Reformed  Church  of 
France. 

14.  National  Council  of  the  Congregational  Church 
in  the  United  States  of  America. 

15.  Synod  of  the  Waldensian  Church.* 

16.  General  Council  of  the  Reformed  Episcopal 
Church.t 

17.  General  Synod  of  the  Reformed  Church  in  the 
United  States.f 

18.  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  in  America.f 

19.  General  Synod  of  the  Reformed  Presbyterian 
Church.  J 

How  is  the  correspondence  maintained  ? 

Generally  by  the  appointment  of  delegates  to  attend 
the  annual  meetings  of  the  highest  court  of  each  de- 
nomination with  which  our  Church  is  in  correspondence. 
These  are  not  only  to  present  salutations,  but  to  bring 
before  these  bodies  everything  that  may  concern  the  re- 
lations of  these  denominations  and  our  own.  There  were 
three  plans  at  first  proposed  of  correspondence :  (1)  by 
letter  between  committees  appointed  by  each  body ;  (2) 
by  conventions  composed  of  delegates  of  equal  number 
from  each ;  (3)  by  sending  delegates  to  each  body,  who 
shall  sit  in  their  respective  meetings.  §  These  have  all 
been  tried ;  the  latter,  however,  is  the  one  finally  adopted. 
In  1878  it  was  proposed  and  referred  to  the  next  Assem- 
bly that  since  the  different  branches  of  the  Presbyterian 
churches  througliout  the  world  are  now  associated  in  the 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  277.  f  Minutes  G.  A.  1875,  p.  529. 

X  Minutes  O.  A.  1878,  p.  54.  §  Assembly's  Digest,  p.  513. 


PLAN  OF   UNION.  261 

General  Presbyterian  Alliance,  and  meet  in  its  Triennial 
Councils,  therefore  it  is  no  longer  necessary  to  appoint 
annual  delegates  to  the  several  churches  joined  in  that 
Alliance.*  In  1879  it  was  resolved  "that  the  Assembly, 
with  the  most  cordial  esteem  for  the  brethren  of  other 
Presbyterian  churches,  will  in  future  decline  to  appoint 
any  such  delegates,  and  content  themselves  with  the  ap- 
pointment of  commissioners  to  the  General  Councils  of 
the  Alliance."  t 

What  was  the  plan  adopted  with  the  General  Associa- 
tion of  Connecticut? 

A  standing  committee  of  correspondence  was  appointed 
by  each  body,  to  communicate  by  frequent  letters  what- 
ever may  be  mutually  useful  and  to  the  general  interest 
of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom.  Each  may  appoint  a  com- 
mittee of  three  to  attend  in  the  other's  annual  meeting, 
with  right  to  sit,  communicate  and  deliberate  (and  to 
vote,  as  afterward  amended)  on  all  subjects.  Traveling 
Ministers  shall  be  acknowledged  on  the  testimonials 
signed  by  Moderator  of  Presbytery  or  Association,  or  a 
member  of  Standing  Committee.  This  was  in  1792.  J 
Similar  plans  were  adopted  with  other  Congregational 
bodies. 

What  was  the  Plan  of  Union  ? 

The  General  Association  of  Connecticut  in  1801  pro- 
posed "to  consider  the  measures  proper  to  be  adopted 
by  the  General  Association  and  the  General  Assembly 
for  establishing  an  uniform  system  of  church  govern- 
ment between  the  inhabitants  of  the  new  settlements  who 
are  attached  to  the  Presbyterian  form  of  government  and 
those  who  prefer  the  Congregational  form."     The  object 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  1878,  p.  119.         f  ^*if^-,  1879,  p.  616.    See  p.  250. 
X  Assembly's  Digest,  p.  513. 


262  OF   THE   GENERAL    ASSEMBLY. 

was  "to  prevent  alienation,  and  to  promote  union  and 
harmony  in  those  new  settlements  which  are  composed  of 
inhabitants  from  these  bodies."  The  next  year  the  Plan 
of  Union  was  adopted  by  both  denominations,  and  con- 
tinued in  operation  until  1837,  when  it  was  abrogated 
and  declared  to  be  unconstitutional  as  regards  the  Pres- 
byterian Church,  and  destitute  of  authority  as  proceeding 
from  the  General  Association  of  Connecticut.* 
Its  provisions  were  as  follows  : 

1.  Mutual  forbearance  and  a  spirit  of  acommodation 
were  enjoined  on  the  inhabitants  of  new  settlements  pre- 
ferring these  diiferent  forms  of  church  government. 

2.  A  Congregational  church  with  a  Presbyterian  Pas- 
tor shall  conduct  its  discipline  according  to  Congregational 
order;  the  Pastor  shall,  however,  be  subject  to  Presbytery. 
Any  difficulty  between  Pastor  and  church  or  any  member 
shall  be  referred  to  the  Presbytery,  or  to  a  council  of 
Presbyterians  and  Congregationalists  in  equal  numbers, 
according  to  agreement  of  parties. 

3.  A  Presbyterian  church  with  a  Congregational 
Pastor  shall  conduct  its  discipline  according  to  Presby- 
terian order.  Any  difficulty  between  the  Pastor  and 
the  church  or  any  member  shall  be  referred,  according 
to  consent  of  parties,  to  the  Association  or  to  a  council 
of  Congregationalists  and  Presbyterians  in  equal  num- 
bers. 

4.  A  mixed  church,  some  of  whose  members  are  Pres- 
byterians and  others  Congregationalists,  shall  choose  a 
standinp;  committee  of  communicants  to  exercise  the  dis- 
cipline  of  the  church.  If  a  Presbyterian  be  by  it  placed 
under  discijiline,  he  may  appeal  to  the  Presbytery,  whose 
decision  should  be  final,  unless  the  church  consent  to  a 

*  Assembb/s  Digest,  pp.  670-581,  716;  Netv  Digest,  pp.  453-469. 


ORGANIC   UNION.  2G3 

further  apj)eal  to  Synod  and  General  Assembly.  If  a 
Congregational ist  be  by  it  placed  under  discipline,  he 
jnay  appeal  to  the  body  of  the  male  communicants  of 
the  church,  and  the  case  may  be  referred  to  trial  by  a 
mutual  council.  The  standing  committee  of  such  a 
church  may  send  to  Presbytery  one  of  their  number 
as  delegate,  who  shall  there  have  the  same  right  to  sit 
and  act  as  if  he  were  a  Ruling  Elder.  This  priv- 
ilege of  the  committee-men  (unordained)  to  sit  in 
Presbytery  was  gradually  extended  to  apply  to  Synod 
and  General  Assembly.  The  first  case  reported  is  that 
of  Mr.  D.  W.  Lathrop  of  Ellsworth  in  1820.  After 
some  hesitation  he  was  admitted  to  a  seat  in  the  As- 
sembly.* 

In  1831  the  Assembly  declared  that  the  appointment 
of  committee-men  as  commissioners  from  the  Presbyte- 
ries is  inexpedient  and  of  questionable  constitutionality. 
The  next  year  and  ever  after  they  were  refused  seats  in 
the  A&serably.f 

This  Plan  of  Union,  though  made  with  the  General  As- 
sociation of  Connecticut,  was  not  confined  in  its  operations 
to  that  State.  The  Synods  of  Western  Reserve,  Utica, 
Genesee  and  Geneva,and  the  Presbyteries  under  their  care, 
were  formed  in  accordance  with  this  Plan  of  Union.| 

Has  the  General  Assembly  power  to  consummate  organic 
union  witli  churclies  wMch  are  in  correspondence  with  it  ? 

No.  It  may  propose  plans  of  union  (this  is  often 
done  on  petitions  from  Presbyteries  or  Synods),  and 
perfect  them  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  highest  court 
of  each  body,  but  such  plans  must  be  sent  down  to 

*  Assembly's  Digest,  pp.  570-574 ;  New  Digest,  pp.  453-455. 
f  Assembly's  Digest,  pp.  576-579 ;  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  466. 
J  Assembly's  Digest,  pp.  580,  737. 


264  OF  THE   GENERAL   ASSEMBLY. 

the    Presbyteries   for  their   approval    before    the    final 
action  of  the  Assembly.*      Appendix,  p.  529. 

With  what  bodies  has  correspondence  resulted  in  organic 
union? 

1.  In  1749  the  Presbytery  of  Suffolk.f 

2.  In  1758  between  the  Synods  of  New  York  and  of 
Philadelphia.! 

3.  In  1766  the  Presbytery  of  Dutchess  county .f 

4.  In  1811  the  Presbytery  of  Charleston.§ 

5.  In  1822  the  Associate  Reformed  Synod. || 

6.  In  1852  the  Charleston  Union  Presbytery.^ 

7.  In  1869  the  O.  S.  and  N.  S.  Assemblies.** 

What  were  the  terms  upon  which  this  last  union  was 
effected  ? 

1.  The  title  shall  be  retained,  and  all  legal  and  corpor- 
ate rights  held  prior  to  the  division  in  1838,  and  all  such 
rights  held  by  each  in  1869. 

2.  The  common  standards  shall  be  "sincerely  received 
and  adopted  as  containing  the  system  of  doctrine  contain- 
ed in  holy  Scriptui'e."  The  "Government"  and  "Disci- 
pline" "shall  be  approved  as  containing  the  principles 
and  rules  of  our  polity." 

Concurrent  declarations  were  passed  by  the  Assemblies 
of  1869 : 

1.  All  Ministers  and  churches  in  each  body  shall  hold 
their  respective  connections  in  the  reunital  Churcli. 

2.  Im23erfectly-organized  churches  shall  become  thor- 
oughly Presbyterian  within  five  years.  No  other  such 
churches  shall  hereafter  be  received. ff 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  77,  87-89,  91,  94. 

f  Assemblies  Digest,  p.  562.  %  Ibid.,  p.  613. 

I  Ibid.,  p.  564.                   II  Ibid.,  p.  565.  f  Ibid.,  p.  789. 

**  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  96,  ft  See  p.  34. 


PRESBYTERIAN   ALLIANCE.  265 

3.  Bounds  of  Presbyteries  and  Synods  shall  be  deter- 
mined by  the  Assembly  of  the  reunited  Church. 

4.  Official  records  of  each  branch  shall  be  preserved  as 
the  one  history  of  the  Church,  but  no  rule  or  precedent 
approved  by  only  one  shall  be  of  authority  until  re-estab- 
lished by  the  reunited  Church,  except  where  the  rights 
of  property  are  involved. 

5.  Corporate  rights  held  by  each  shall  be  consolidated 
as  far  as  practicable. 

6.  There  shall  be  one  set  of  Boards,  which  the  churches 
shall  be  encouraged  to  sustain,  though  free  to  send  their 
contributions  into  other  channels. 

7.  The  Boards  and  Permanent  Committees  shall  be 
reconstructed  and  consolidated  by  the  General  Assem- 
bly. 

8.  The  publications  of  each  shall  be  issued;  the  Board 
of  Publication  of  the  reunited  Church  shall  revise  and 
perfect  the  catalogue. 

9.  Theological  seminaries  shall  be  under  synodical  or 
Assembly  supervision. 

10.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  all  to  study  peace,  avoiding 
needless  references  to  past  divisions,  and  conforming  in 
practice  to  the  general  custom  prior  to  the  controversies 
which  resulted  in  the  separation.* 

What  is  the  Presbyterian  Alliance  ? 

In  1873  it  was  resolved  to  appoint  a  committee  of  three 
to  correspond  with  other  churches  in  this  and  other  lands, 
holding  by  the  Westminster  standards,  "  with  a  view  of 
bringing  about  an  oecumenical  council  of  such  churches, 
to  consider  subjects  of  common  interest  to  all,  and  espe- 
cially to  promote  harmony  of  action  in  the  mission-fields 
at  home  and  abroad."     This  committee  took  advantage 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  90-93. 
23 


266  OF   THE   GENERAL   ASSEMBLY. 

of  the  (xeneral  Conference  of  the  Evangelical  Alliance  at 
New  York  in  October,  1873,  and  called  together  many 
belonging  to  different  branches  of  the  Presbyterian  fam- 
ily of  churches  in  Canada,  England,  Scotland,  Ireland, 
France,  Germany,  Switzerland,  Italy,  etc.,  as  well  as 
those  in  this  country.  These  gave  a  very  cordial  ap- 
proval of  a  federal  union  among  all  Presbyterian 
churches,  and  favored  the  calling  of  a  Pan-Presbyte- 
rian convention.  A  circular  letter  was  sent  to  thirty-five 
Presbyterian  bodies  in  Europe  and  America,  inviting 
them  to  appoint  committees  to  determine  the  details  of 
a  general  convention.  The  General  Assembly  appoint- 
ed twelve  Ministers  and  three  Elders  as  its  committee. 
The  result  was  that  a  preliminary  conference  was  held 
in  London  July  21,  1875,  to  which  the  General  Assem- 
bly sent  fourteen  delegates.  Twenty-two  Presbyterian 
organizations  in  various  parts  of  the  world  were  repre- 
sented. It  was  there  decided  to  form  "a  permanent  Pres- 
byterian Alliance,  to  meet  in  general  council  from  time 
to  time  in  order  to  confer  upon  matters  of  common  in- 
terest." A  constitution  was  adopted,  of  which  the  fol- 
lowing is  an  abstract : 

I.  Name. — "The  Alliance  of  the  Reformed  churches 
throughout  the  World  holding  the  Presbyterian  System." 

II.  Membership. — Churches  organized  on  Presbyte- 
rian principles,  whose  creeds  are  in  harmony  with  the 
consensus  of  the  Reformed  Confessions,  are  eligible. 

III.  The  Council. — 

1.  Meetings. — A  Triennial  General  Council  shall  be 
held. 

2.  Constituency. — The  delegates  shall,  as  far  as  practi- 
cable, consist  of  an  equal  number  of  Ministers  and  Elders 
from  each  Church  and  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  con- 


PRESBYTERIAN    ALLIANCE.  267 

gregations.     Presbyterians  not  delegates  may  be  invited 
to  speak  and  read  papers. 

3.  Powers. — The  Alliance  shall  decide  on  applications 
for  admission,  and  consider  any  snbject  orderly  brought 
before  it.  It  cannot  interfere  with  the  constitution  or 
with  the  internal  or  external  relations  of  any  Church  in 
the  Alliance. 

4.  Object. — To  consider  questions  of  general  interest 
to  the  Presbyterian  community ;  seek  the  welfare  of 
churches,  especially  tlia  weak  and  persecuted ;  gather 
information  of  the  Church  throughout  the  world ;  com- 
mend the  Presbyterian  system;  and  consider  the  work 
of  evangelization,  the  distribution  of  mission-labor,  com- 
bination of  church  energies,  the  training  of  Ministers, 
use  of  the  press,  the  Sabbath,  instruction  of  children, 
systematic  beneficence,  suppression  of  vices,  and  the 
methods  of  opposing  infidelity  and  Romanism. 

5.  Methods. — By  reading  papers,  delivering  and  pub- 
lishing addresses,  circulating  information  of  allied 
churches  and  their  missions,  expounding  scriptural 
principles,  communicating  its  minutes  to  the  supreme 
courts  of  the  allied  churches,  etc. 

6.  Committee  on  Business. — Such  shall  be  appointed, 
through  which  all  communications  and  subjects  shall 
pass. 

IV.  Change  of  Constitution. — No  change  shall 
be  made  except  on  motion  at  one  meeting,  not  objected 
to  by  a  majority  of  the  churches,  and  carried  by  a  two- 
thirds  vote  at  the  next  General  Council. 

The  General  Assembly  formally  determined  to  enter 
into  this  Alliance,  and  approved  of  the  above  constitu- 
tion, and  chose  forty  delegates,  thirty-one  corresponding 
or  associate  members,  to  represent  it  at  the  first  meeting, 


268  OF  THE   GENERAL   ASSEMBLY. 

which  was  held  in  July,  1877,  in  Edinburgh.*  The 
second  meeting  was  held  in  Philadelphia  in  1880.  The 
third  is  to  be  held  in  Belfast,  Ireland,  1884.t  At  the 
request  of  the  Council  of  the  General  Alliance,  the  As- 
sembly appointed  a  committee  of  three  Ministers  and 
two  Elders  as  a  Permanent  Committee  on  the  Presby- 
terian Alliance  for  Correspondence.  J     App.,  p.  529. 

What  is  schism? 

A  division  or  separation  in  a  Church  or  denomina- 
tion of  Christians  occasioned  by  diversity  of  opinion; 
a  breach  of  unity  among  people  of  the  same  religious 
faith.  § 

What  separations  have  taken  place  in  the  Presbyterian 
Church  ? 

1.  In  1745  the  Synod  of  Philadelphia  was  divided  by 
the  withdrawal  of  "some  brethren  of  New  York,"  who 
"erected  themselves  into  a  Synod  of  New  York."  ||  This 
separation  continued  until  1758,  when  the  two  were  re- 
united under  the  name  of  the  Synod  of  New  York  and 
Philadelphia.! 

2.  In  1766  the  Donegal  schism,  the  question  at  is- 
sue being  the  method  of  examining  a  candidate  on  his 
religious  experience.  A  reunion  was  accomplished  in 
1768.** 

3.  In  1797  certain  members  of  the  Abington  Presby- 
tery of  the  Synod  of  the  Carolinas  withdrew  because 
Rev.  Hezekiah  Balch  was  not  disciplined  for  preaching 

*  Mimdes  O.  A.  1873,  p.  557  ;  187J^,  pp.  19,  76 ;  1875,  pp.  472, 528 ; 
1876,  pp.  22,  50-53,  81 ;  1877,  p.  501. 

t  Ibid.,  1881,  p.  551 ;  Report  of  Second  General  Council  of  the  Pres* 
byte.)  ian  Alliance,  p.  900. 

X  Minutes  G.  A.  1881,  p.  515.  §  Assembly's  Digest,  p.  37. 

II  Records  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  pp.  181,  233. 

i  Ibid.,  pp.  230,  285-288.  **  Assembly's  Digest,  p.  620. 


SCHISM.  269 

certain  doctrinal  errors.     They  formed  an  independent 
Presbytery,  and  were  called  "Independent  Brethren."* 

4.  In  1804  the  New-Light  Party.  Several  Ministers 
of  the  Synod  of  Kentucky  formally  seceded  and  formed 
themselves  into  a  Presbytery,  renouncing  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  because  they  could  not  re- 
tain the  Confession  of  Faith  as  the  standard  of  doctrine 
and  discipline,  declaring  themselves  "  freed  from  all 
creeds  but  the  Bible."  Some  of  these  afterward  joined 
the  Shakers,  some  the  Campbellites;  others  in  1811 
returned  to  our  Church,  while  others  retain  their  sepa- 
ration under  the  name  of  "  Christians."  f 

5.  In  1807  the  Cumberland  Presbytery  was  formed 
out  of  the  western  part  of  the  Presbytery  of  Transylva- 
nia, and  soon  began  to  license  and  ordain  men  contrary 
to  the  "Form  of  Government,"  and  without  requiring 
adoption  of  the  Confession  of  Faith.  They  refused  to 
obey  citations  of  Synod  or  the  advice  of  General  Assem- 
bly, and  were  suspended.  They  formed  the  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  denomination.  | 

6.  In  1838  the  separation  between  the  Old  and  New 
School  Assemblies.  The  necessity  of  the  separation  was 
long  recognized  by  both  parties.  In  1837  a  committee  was 
appointed  to  propose  a  plan  for  an  amicable  division  of  the 
Church  into  two  independent  denominations.  This  was 
not  found  to  be  practicable.  When  the  General  Assembly 
met  in  1838  at  Philadelphia,  while  completing  the  or- 
ganization, the  New  School  party  withdrew  in  a  body  to 
the  First  Presbyterian  Church  and  organized  as  a  General 
Assembly,  claiming  to  be  the  true  successor  of  the  As- 
sembly of  1837.     The  Old  School  party  remained  in 

*  Assembly's  Digest,  pp.  627-634.  f  Ibid.,  pp.  634-640. 

X  Ibid.,  pp.  640-646. 
23* 


270  OF    THE    GENERAL    ASSEMBLY. 

the  Seventh  Presbyterian  Church  and  proceeded  with 
its  business,  making  a  similar  claim.  The  question  was 
referred  to  the  civil  courts,  which  decided  that  the  latter 
was  the  true  successor  of  the  Assembly  of  1837,  and  had 
right  to  its  title  and  to  the  funds  belonging  to  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  in  the  United  States  of  America.  The 
origin  of  the  trouble  dated  as  far  back  as  1801,  in  the 
Plan  of  Union  formed  with  the  General  Association  of 
Connecticut.*  This  gradually  introduced  and  fostered 
much  that  was  inconsistent  with  the  principles  of  Pres- 
byterianism.  The  chief  causes  which  led  to  the  separation 
were — 

(1)  Diversities  of  doctrinal  beliefs. 

(2)  Practical  modifications  of  the  "Form  of  Govern- 
ment." 

(3)  The  dissolution  of  "elective-affinity"  courts.f 

(4)  Application  and  methods  of  discipline. 

(5)  Changes  in  forms  of  worship. 

(6)  The  abrogation  of  the  Plan  of  Union  and  the 
disowning  of  the  Synods  and  Presbyteries  formed  un- 
der it. 

(7)  The  influence  exerted  over  our  missionaries  and 
our  church  courts  by  organizations  for  church  work  in- 
dependent of  all  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction,  even  of  the 
General  Assembly. 

(8)  Manner  of  educating  Candidates,^ 

The  separate  existence  of  the  two  bodies  continued 
until  1869,  when  the  reunion  took  place. § 

7.  In  1857  six  synods  in  the  Southern  States  connected 
with  the  N.  S.  Assembly  withdrew,  because  of  the  adop- 

*  See  p.  26L  f  See  p.  176. 

X  Assembly's  Digest,  pp.  656-801 ;  New  Digest,  pp.  453-557. 
§  See  p.  264. 


SCHISM.  271 

tion  of  a  paper  on  slavery.  They  formed  "  The  United 
Synod  of  the  Presbyterian  Church."  In  1859  two  other 
Synods  in  the  Southern  States  followed  them,  and  the 
Synod  of  Missouri  assumed  an  independent  position.* 

8.  In  1861  ten  Synods,  with  the  Presbyteries  and 
churches  under  their  care,  within  the  Southern  States, 
withdrew,  and  in  December,  1861,  organized  a  separate 
Church  under  another  General  Assembly.  Its  title  now 
is  "  The  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
in  the  United  States."  The  reasons  given  were — state 
of  the  country,  and  especially  deliverances  of  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  on  slavery,  rebellion  and  political  ques- 
tions.f  In  1868  the  General  Assembly  recognized  the 
Southern  Presbyterian  Church  as  a  distinct  and  separate 
ecclesiastical  organization.^  There  have  been  several 
propositions  for  a  reunion,  but  in  1877  the  Assembly 
resolved  that,  while  we  are  sincerely  desirous  to  be  re- 
united, it  is  not  expedient  to  take  at  present  any  further 
action,  but  we  are  ready  to  send  and  receive  delegates 
whenever  the  Southern  Church  is  willing  to  enter  into 
fraternal  relations  on  such  terms.  §     Appendix,  p.  529. 

9.  In  1867,  Declaration  and  Testimony  Men.  In  1865 
the  General  Assembly  took  certain  action  in  regard  to 
the  method  of  receiving  persons  coming  from  Southern 
churches.  A  number  of  Ministers  and  Elders  in  the 
Synods  of  Kentucky  and  Missouri  signed  and  published 
a  paper  called  a  "  Declaration  and  Testimony,"  which 
was  afterward  adopted  by  the  Presbytery  of  Louisville. 
This  the  Assembly  declared  to  be  a  slander,  schismatical 
and  rebellious  against  the  authority  of  the  General  As- 

*  See  p.  459.     Neiv  Digest,  pp.  565-568. 

t  Minutes  O.  A.  1866,  p.  83-90.  %  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  273. 

I  Minutes  G.  A.  1876,  p.  55 ;  1877,  p.  570. 


*272  OF   THE   GENERAL   ASSEMBLY. 

sembly,  and  called  upon  the  signers  to  reconsider  their 
action  and  withdraw  all  language  deemed  by  the  As- 
sembly offensive  or  disrespectful.  Some  did  so;  the  rest 
formed  Presbyteries  and  the  "  Independent  Synod  of 
Missouri,"  which  in  1874  united  with  the  Southern 
Church.  In  the  same  year  some  Ministers,  in  behalf 
of  themselves  and  several  congregations,  sent  an  over- 
ture to  the  General  Assembly  for  reunion.  This  was 
favorably  answered,  and  prayer  and  thanksgiving  were 
offered.     They  returned  as  individuals  a  few  years  later.* 

What  is  a  pastoral  or  circular  letter  ? 

A  letter  ordered  and  adopted  by  the  General  Assem- 
bly and  sent  to  the  churches.  These  have  been  sent  in 
the  peculiar  emergencies  of  the  Church  to  explain  the 
action  of  the  Assembly ;  to  warn  against  errors  of  doc- 
trine, prevalent  vices  and  sins,  or  irregularities  in  gov- 
ernment or  discipline ;  to  counsel  or  to  excite  to  greater 
spirituality  and  zeal.f 

VI.  What  are  constitutional  rules  ? 

Prior  to  1805  these  were  called  "Standing  Rules." 
They  are  "articles  of  the  constitution  which,  when  once 
established,  are  unalterable  by  the  General  Assembly."  | 

How  are  they  made  ? 

They  may  originate  in  the  Assembly,  but  generally 
they  appear  before  that  body  as  overtures  from  the  lower 
courts.  If  they  are  approved  by  the  Assembly,  they  are 
sent  down  to  the  Presbyteries  for  their  approval.  '^Be- 
fore any  overtures  or  regulations  -proposed  by  the  Assem- 
bly to  be  established  as  constitutional  rules  shall  be  obliga- 
tory on  the  churches,  it  shall  be  necessary  to  transmit  them 
to  all  the  Presbyteries,  and  to  receive  the  returns  of  at  least 

*  Minutes  O.  A.  1SG6,  p.  61 ;  1867,  p.  337  ;  1874,  pp.  27-30;  1877, 
p.  872.  t  Preshylerian  Digest,  pp.  280-325.  j  Ibid.,  p.  326. 


CHANGES    IN   THE    CONSTITUTION.  273 

a  majority  of  them,  in  writing,  approving  thereof P  If  all 
the  Presbyteries  do  not  respond,  the  question  may  be  de- 
ferred until  the  next  Assembly ;  the  answers  already  re- 
ceived may  be  reversed  by  the  Presbyteries  before  the 
final  count.* 

Is  the  Assembly  bound  to  adopt  a  constitutional  rule  wMch 
has  been  approved  by  a  majority  of  the  Presbyteries  ? 

The  Assembly  having  approved  of  the  rule  before  it 
was  sent  to  the  Presbyteries,  it  is  expected  that  the  next 
Assembly  will  ratify  it  if  approved  by  the  Presbyteries. 
Yet  it  can  decide  against  it,  as  in  1827  the  Presbyteries 
approved  an  overture  sent  down  to  them,  with  exception 
of  one  article.  This  the  Assembly  regarded  as  essential, 
and  rejected  the  whole,  not  deeming  it  wise  to  send  it 
back  to  the  Presbyteries.f 

Can  changes  be  made  in  the  constitution  ? 

The  Synod  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  prepara- 
tory to  the  formation  of  the  General  Assembly  in  1788, 
ordered  a  thorough  revision  of  the  standards — the  Con- 
fession of  Faith,  Larger  and  Shorter  Catechisms,  the 
Form  of  Government,  Book  of  Discipline  and  Directory 
for  Worship — and  adopted  them  as  amended  to  be  the 
constitution  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  determined 
that  they  be  unalterable  unless  two-thirds  of  the  Presby- 
teries shall  propose  amendments,  and  these  shall  be  after- 
ward enacted  by  the  General  Assembly.  The  Confession 
of  Faith  was  amended  only  in  regard  to  the  power  of 
civil  government  over  the  Church.  The  Larger  and 
Shorter  Catechisms  were  approved  with  only  a  slight 
amendment  in  the  former.  %     There  have  been  revisions 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  329.  f  Ibid.,  p.  328. 

%  Records  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  pp.  525,  539,  546,  547 ;  Presby- 
terian Digest,  p.  51. 

S 


274  OF    THE    GENERAL    ASSEMBLY. 

of  the  Form  of  Government,  Discipline  and  Directory 
in  1804  and  in  1821.  The  doctrinal  parts,  the  Confes- 
sion of  Faith  and  the  Catechisms,  have  not  been  touched. 
In  1804  the  Assembly  declared  that  no  change  in  the 
Confession  of  Faith  or  in  the  Catechism  ought  to  be  at- 
tempted. "  The  creed  of  the  Church,  if  it  be  once  rightly 
settled,  can  never  be  altered  with  propriety  by  any  change 
of  time  or  external  circumstances  of  the  Church;"  and 
many  reasons  are  given.  In  1844  a  committee  of  the 
O.  S.  Assembly  expressed  as  their  opinion  that  there 
should  be  some  orderly  way  of  amending  our  formulas 
of  doctrine,  and  that  the  old  law  of  the  Synod  is  still  in 
force — viz.  that  the  alterations  of  the  doctrinal  standards 
require  a  two-thirds  vote  of  the  Presbyteries,  while  con- 
stitutional rules  (according  to  later  amendments)  may  be 
adopted  by  a  majority  of  the  Presbyteries.*  Since  the 
reunion  many  have  expressed  a  desire  that  certain  changes 
might  be  made  in  the  Book  of  Discipline,  especially  in 
simplifying  the  forms  of  process.  In  1878  a  committee 
of  seven  Ministers  and  five  Elders  were  appointed  "to 
consider  whether  any  changes,  amendments  or  additions 
should  be  made  in  our  present  Form  of  Government  and 
Book  of  Discipline,  and  if  so,  what ;  and  that  the  said 
committee  report  to  the  next  Assembly."  The  commit- 
tee reported  in  1879,  and  in  the  following  year  presented 
a  Revised  Book  of  Discipline,  that  the  Church  might 
judge  of  the  progress  and  character  of  their  work.  This 
was  ordered  to  be  printed  and  sent  to  every  Pastor  and 
Session.f  In  1881  the  committee  reported  progress,  pre- 
sented a  "second  revision"  of  the  Book  of  Discipline,! 
and  stated  "  that  they  were  not  prepared  to  report  a  re- 

*  Presby Ionian  Digest,  pp.  51,  328. 

t  Minutes  O.  A.  18S0,  pp.  34-36.  %  Ibid.,  ISSl,  p.  527. 


CHANGES   IN   THE   CONSTITUTION.  275 

vised  Form  of  Government  at  this  time."  That  import- 
ant subject  hud  engaged  their  attention.  A  minority  re- 
port was  also  presented,  objecting  to  the  radical  changes 
proposed.  The  report  was  recommitted  with  the  follow- 
ing instructions : 

"  1.  The  Revision  Committee  is  instructed  to  incor- 
porate into  the  existing  Form  of  Government  the  two 
amendments  in  regard  to  Synods  just  now  adopted  by 
the  Presbyteries.  The  committee  is  also  desired  to 
propose  to  the  next  Assembly  such  verbal  changes  in  the 
text  of  the  Form  of  Government  as  may  be  needed  for 
purposes  of  adaptation,  and  to  report  a  form  of  words  in 
which  these  changes  may  be  proposed,  by  way  of  overture, 
ixi  the  Presbyteries  for  their  adoption. 

"2.  The  Assembly,  while  recognizing  the  great  fidelity 
of  the  committee  in  its  work,  does  hereby  relieve  it  from 
the  duty  of  revising  or  in  any  way  amending  the  Form 
of  Government,  except  in  the  verbal  changes  described 
in  the  first  paragraph ;  and  they  are  instructed  to  conform 
their  Revision  of  the  Book  of  Discipline  to  the  present 
Form  of  Government. 

"  3.  The  committee  is  further  instructed  to  put  into 
their  Revision  of  the  Book  of  Discipline  a  distinct  chap- 
ter on  Protests  and  Dissents,  substantially  like  that  in 
the  present  Book  of  Discipline. 

"  4.  The  Assembly  would  urge  upon  the  committee  the 
importance  of  their  submission  of  a  final  report  to  the 
next  Assembly." 

A  resolution  was  adopted,  "that  in  withdrawing  ihe 
Form  of  Government  from  the  Committee  on  Revision, 
the  Assembly  aims  to  preserve  the  quietude  of  the  Church, 
and  not  in  any  way  to  reflect  upon  the  wisdom  or  relia- 
bility of  the  committee,  or  the  course  of  their  proceedings 


276  OF   THE   GENERAL   ASSEMBLY. 

in  prosecuting  the  work  committed  to  them  by  the  Assem- 
bly. We  therefore  feel  entire  confidence  in  recommitting 
the  Book  of  Discipline  to  their  consideration."  * 

How  are  the  answers  of  the  Presbyteries  to  be  at- 
tested ? 

They  must  be  signed  by  the  Moderator  and  Stated 
Clerk.  Presbyteries  in  foreign  lands  shall  send  their 
answers  to  the  Stated  Clerk  of  the  Assembly,  who  shall 
report  them  as  soon  as  possible.  So  the  O.  S.  Assembly 
determined  in  1867.t 

When  may  the  answers  of  the  Presbyteries  be  counted  ? 

The  Assembly  of  1867  also  decided  that  the  answers 
may  be  counted  when  a  reasonable  time  has  elapsed  to 
hear  from  all  the  Presbyteries,  and  it  is  clear  that  the 
answers  not  received  Avould  not  affect  the  result.f 

Vn.  How  often  shall  the  Assembly  meet  ? 

"At  least  once  in  every  year.''  A  suggestion  has  been 
frequently  made  that  the  Assembly  should  meet  once  in 
three  years.  In  1881  an  overture  was  received  asking 
for  triennial  Assemblies,  but  it  was  resolved  almost  unan- 
imously "that  in  view  of  the  changes  involved  in  the  adop- 
tion of  the  overtures  on  reconstruction  of  the  Synods,  and 
also  in  view  of  the  pending  report  with  reference  to  the 
'Book  of  Discipline' and  'Form  of  Government,'  it  is 
not  expedient  to  take  action  on  that  important  subject  at 
present."  |     Apjiendix,  p.  533. 

Can  it  hold  an  adjourned  meeting  ? 

In  1846  the  opinion  of  Chancellor  Kent  of  New  York 
was  obtained,  who  says :  "  I  consider  the  power  to  be  ne- 
cessarily incident  to  every  deliberative  a.ssembly,  unless 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  18S1,  pp.  527,  573;  Appendix,  p.  532. 
t  Preftbyterian  Digest,  p.  330. 
•    X  Minutes  G.  A.  1881,  p.  548.     For  standing  orders,  see  p.  497. 


ADJOUHNED   MEETINGS.  277 

specially  prohibited  by  its  charter."  "  The  constitution 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  leaves  silently  the  same 
power  of  adjournment,  precisely  on  the  same  footing  of 
discretion."  In  1869  both  Assemblies  met  in  May  in 
New  York,  and  they  adjourned  to  meet  in  the  city  of 
Pittsburg  in  November  of  the  same  year,  one  in  the 
First  Church,  and  the  other  in  the  Third  Presbyterian 
Church.* 

Of  whom  must  sucli  a  meeting  be  composed  ? 

The  commissioners  who  were  enrolled  as  members  of 
the  Assembly,  and  they  only,  can  sit  as  members  of  the 
adjourned  meeting,  except  a  vacancy  occurs  by  death, 
resignation,  refusal  to  attend ;  then  the  Presbytery  may 
fill  such  vacancy.  So  the  N.  S.  Assembly  notified  its 
Presbyteries  in  1869,  when  informing  them  of  the  ad- 
journed meetings  to  be  held  by  both  Assemblies  at 
Pittsburg  to  consummate  the  reunion.  At  the  adjourned 
meeting  of  the  O.  S.  Assembly  it  was  determined  that 
all  alternates  with  regular  commissions  may  be  enrolled, 
the  principals  being  absent.  The  other  Assembly  was 
duly  informed,  and  no  objection  seems  to  have  been 
made.f 

Can  the  Assembly  hold  a  "  pro  re  nata  "  meeting  ? 

In  the  N.  S.  Assembly,  when  meeting  once  in  three 
years,  the  Moderator,  with  the  concurrence  of  the  Stated 
and  Permanent  Clerks,  could  call  a  pro  re  nata  meeting 
in  any  emergency,  with  four  months'  notice.  After  ten 
years'  trial  this  plan  was  abolished.J  The  Assembly  ad- 
journs sine  die,  the  Moderator  dissolving  the  Assembly, 
and  requiring  another  General  Assembly  to  be  chosen 
and  to  meet  at  such  a  time  and  place.     He  has  no  fur- 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  96,  331.  t  I^^d.,  p.  332- 

X  New  Digest,  pp.  596-602. 
24 


278  OF    THE   GENERAL   ASSEMBLY. 

ther  power."  Even  in  the  next  Assembly,  unless  chosen 
again  as  a  commissioner,  he  can  only  preach  and  preside 
until  organization  is  effected ;  he  has  no  vote.* 

When  does  the  Assembly  meet  ? 

"  On  the  day  appointed  for  that  purpose"  The  first 
General  Assembly  met  on  the  third  Thursday  of  May, 
at  11  A.M.  Usage  has  fixed  that  day  and  hour  as  the 
time  of  the  annual  meeting.f 

Who  shall  open  the  Assembly  ? 

"  71ie  Moderator  of  the  last  Assembly,  if  present,  or,  in 
case  of  his  absence,  some  other  Minister,  shall  open  the 
meeting  with  a  sermon,  and  preside  until  a  neiv  Moderator 
be  chosen''  The  N.  S.  Assembly  decided  in  1861  that 
he  need  not  be  a  commissioner,  but  has  power  to  preserve 
order,  give  decisions  on  points  of  order,  and,  if  necessary, 
give  a  casting  vote.| 

Who  shall  open  the  Assembly  if  the  Moderator  be  ab- 
sent? 

In  1835,  Rev.  S.  Miller,  D.  D.  (a  previous  Moderator), 
preached  the  sermon.  The  Stated  Clerk  called  theAssera- 
bly  to  order,  and  moved  that  the  last  Moderator  present, 
being  a  commissioner,  preside ;  but  the  Assembly  decided 
that  it  was  not  necessary  that  he  be  a  commissioner,  and 
chose  Hev.  W.  A.  McDowell,  D.  D.,  to  preside  during  the 
organization ;  he  was  a  previous  Moderator,  but  not  a  mem- 
ber of  that  Assembly.  In  1843  the  O.  S.  Assembly  de- 
cided that  he  must  be  a  commissioner  of  the  Assembly. 
The  second  rule  for  judicatories  adopted  in  1871  requires 
that  "if  the  Moderator  be  absent,  the  last  Moderator 
present,  or  if  there  be  none  the  senior  member  present, 
shall  be  requested  to  take  his  place  without  delay  until 

*  Form  of  Government,  ch.  xii.,  secte.  vii.  and  viii. 

f  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  200.  J  Ibid-,  p.  460.     See  p.  279. 


HOW   OPENED.  279 

a  new  election."*  In  1880  this  was  changed  by  insert- 
ing the  words  "being  a  commissioner"  after  the  words 
"  the  hist  Moderator  present."  f 

How  shall  the  Assembly  be  opened  ? 

After  the  sermon  the  Moderator  shall  open  the  session 
with  prayer.  The  committee  of  arrangements  appointed 
the  previous  year  generally  makes  a  partial  report,  and 
a  recess  is  taken,  after  which  the  Standing  Committee 
(the  Stated  and  Permanent  Clerks)  report  on  the  com- 
missions. Irregular  commissions  are  referred  to  a  spe- 
cial committee,  the  roll  is  completed  and  nominations  for 
Moderator  are  called  for.  Any  commissioner  may  nom- 
inate a  candidate.  The  candidates  shall  vote  and  with- 
draw. The  vote  is  taken  viva  voce,  and  a  majority  of 
all  the  votes  elects  the  Moderator.  A  committee  is  ap- 
pointed to  bring  him  to  the  chair.  The  former  Moder- 
ator shall  then  say,  "  Sir,  it  is  my  duty  to  inform  you 
and  announce  to  this  house  that  you  are  duly  elected  to 
the  office  of  Moderator  of  this  General  Assembly.  For 
your  direction  in  office,  and  for  the  direction  of  this  As- 
sembly in  all  your  deliberations,  I  place  in  your  hands 
this  book,  containing  the  rules  for  judicatories  adopted 
by  the  Assembly,  which  I  doubt  not  will  be  carefully 
observed  by  both  in  conducting  the  business  that  may 
come  before  you.  And,  praying  that  Almighty  God  may 
direct  and  bless  all  the  deliberations  of  this  Assembly  for 
the  glory  of  his  name  and  for  the  edification  and  comfort 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States,  I  re- 
sign my  place  and  office  as  Moderator."  The  newly- in- 
stalled Moderator  generally  makes  a  short  reply  as  he 
takes  the  chair,  and  the  Assembly  is  ready  for  business.| 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  201,  205.        f  Minutes  G.  A.  1880,  p.  45. 
X  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  203,  205.     See  p.  489. 


280  OF   THE    GENERAL    ASSEMBLY. 

May  a  Moderator  serve  more  than  once  ? 

There  is  no  rule  prohibiting  a  re-election,  but  usage 
seems  to  forbid  it,  as  no  case  of  re-election  has  yet  oc- 
curred.* 

May  the  Moderator  have  a  double  vote  ? 

"  When  a  vote  is  taken  by  ballot  in  any  judicatory, 
the  Moderator  shall  vote  with  the  other  membei's,  but 
he  shall  not  vote  in  any  other  case  unless  the  judicatory 
be  equally  divided ;  when,  if  he  does  not  choose  to  vote, 
the  question  shall  be  lost."  This  casting  vote,  however, 
cannot  be  given  if  he  has  already  given  a  (ballot) 
vote.t 

May  he  at  any  time  leave  the  chair  ? 

In  a  judicial  case,  if  the  Moderator  is  a  member  of 
the  court  appealed  from  or  a  party  in  the  case,  he  cannot 
retain  his  seat.  The  last  Moderator  present,  or  one  chosen 
by  the  Assembly,  shall  take  the  chair.  In  1866,  in  the 
O.  S.  Assembly,  the  former  Moderator,  Rev.  J.  C.  Low- 
rie,  D.  D.,  seems  to  have  been  present,  but  by  vote  Rev. 
J.  INI.  Krebs,  D.  D.  (Moderator  in  1845),  was  called  to 
'the  chair. I 

When  may  a  commissioner  deliberate  and  vote  ? 

Not  "  mifil  his  name  shall  have  been  enrolled  by  the 
Clerk,  and  his  commission  examined  and  filed  among  the 
papers  of  the  Assembly." 

Vin.  How  shall  each  session  of  the  Assembly  be  opened 
and  closed  ? 

"J^ach  session  of  the  Assembly  shall  be  opened  and  closed 
with  prayer.  And  the  ivhole  business  of  the  Assembly  being 
finished,  and  the  vote  taken  for  dissolving  the  present  As- 
sembly, tJie  Moderator  shall  say  from  the  chair,  'By  virtue 

*  Assembly's  Digest,  p.  854.  f  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  203,  204. 

X  Ibid.,  p.  204 ;  Minutes  O.  A.  1866,  pp.  7,  48. 


DISSOLVED.  281 

of  the  auihwity  delegated  to  me  hy  the  Church,  let  this 
General  Assembly  be  dissolved;  and  I  do  hereby  dissolve 
it,  and  require  another  General  Assembly,  chosen  in  the 

same  manner,  to  meet  at on  the day  of , 

A.  D. /    After  lohich  he  shall  pray  and  return  thanks, 

and  pronounce  on  those  present  the  apostolic  benediction." 
In  addition  to  the  prayer  and  benediction  an  appropriate 
psalm  or  hymn  shall  be  sung.*  In  1879  the  Moderator 
in  dissolving  the  Assembly  added  the  words  to  the  above 
formula,  "  in  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Madison, 
Wis."  When  the  Assembly  met  they  did  not  assemble 
in  that  church,  but  in  the  State  Capitol.  The  record 
shows  that  in  the  vote  appointing  the  place  of  meeting 
no  building  was  mentioned.  The  following  action  was 
taken  :  That  "  the  Assembly,  and  not  the  Moderator,  has 
the  right  and  the  power  of  fixing  the  place  of  meeting. 
The  Assembly  fixed  the  city  of  Madison,  and  left  the 
present  Assembly  to  seek  its  own  place  or  house  in  which 
to  meet.  This  Assembly  selected  this  hall,  after  it  was 
so  kindly  and  generously  tendered  by  His  Excellency  the 
governor  of  this  State.  There  can  be  no  question  but 
that  the  meeting  in  this  hall  is  regular,  and  in  conform- 
ity with  the  order  of  the  last  Assembly  and  of  the  law 
and  constitution  of  the  Church."  f 

*  General  Rules  for  Judicatories,  xliii.    See  p.  497. 
t  Minutes  G.  A.  1879,  p.  619,  634 ;  1880,  p.  81. 
24* 


282  ELECTION   OF   ELDERS    AND   DEACONS. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

OF    ELECTING    AND    ORDAINING    RULING    ELDERS    AND 
DEACONS. 

I.  Should  there  be  definite  rules  for  the  election  and  ordi- 
nation of  church  officers,  binding  on  aU  the  churches  ? 

The  Church  is  one.  The  officers  of  a  particular  church 
have  duties  to  the  whole  Church,  the  most  important  of 
which  are  performed  in  the  several  judicatories.  In  these 
they  ought  to  meet  and  act  with  each  other  as  "representa- 
tives of  the  people/'  elected  and  ordained  in  the  same  way. 
The  presence  of  unordained  committee-men  in  our  church 
courts  under  the  Plan  of  Union  was  a  great  evil  and  un- 
constitutional.* "  Having  defined  the  officers  of  the  Church, 
and  the  judicatories  by  which  it  shall  be  governed,  it  is 
proper  here  to  describe  the  mode  in  which  ecclesiastical 
nders  should  be  ordained  to  their  respective  offices,  as  well 
as  some  of  the  principles  by  which  they  shall  be  regulated 
in  the  discharge  of  their  several  duties." 

n.  How  are  officers  to  be  elected  ? 

^^ Every  congregation  shall  elect  po'sons  to  the  office  of 
Ruling  Elder  and  to  the  office  of  Deacon,  or  either  of  tJiem, 
in  the  mode  most  approved  and  in  use  in  that  congregation." 
The  ecclesiastical  principles  must  be  the  same — the  mode 
of  carrying  out  these  may  differ  in  the  several  churches. 
The  Elders  and  Deacons  must  be  elected  by  the  people, 
but  whether  this  shall  be  done  directly  or  indirectly  is 
determined  by  the  usage  in  each  church.  In  1827,  rec- 
ognizing the  right  of  every  church  in  this  matter,  the 
Assembly  said  that  "they  are  inclined  to  believe  that  the 
spirit  of  our  constitution  would  be  most  fully  sustained 
*  See  p.  263. 


IRREGULAR    ELECTION.  283 

by  having  in  all  cases  a  direct  vote  of  the  congregation 
in  the  appointment  of  Elders."  The  mode  most  ap- 
proved and  in  use  may  be  changed  by  a  vote  of  the  con- 
gregation.*    Appendix,  p.  533. 

Who  determines  when  it  is  expedient  to  have  an  elec- 
tion? 

The  congregation  may  petition  the  Session  to  call  a 
meeting  for  that  purpose.  The  Session  must  judge 
whether  it  be  expedient.  If  it  refuse,  a  complaint  may 
be  made  to  Presbytery,  who  may  order  the  Session  to 
call  the  meeting.  The  Session  may  suggest  the  number 
to  be  elected,  and  nominate  the  persons,  but  cannot  inter- 
fere with  the  freedom  of  the  election. f 

Does  irregularity  invalidate  the  election  ? 

If  the  meeting  be  called  without  the  action  of  the  Ses- 
sion or  a  higher  court,  it  is  irregular.  In  1856  the  O.  S. 
Assembly  decided,  in  the  case  before  it,  that  the  irregu- 
larity was  not  sufficient  to  invalidate  the  election,  yet  rec- 
ommended that  the  Elders  and  Deacons  thus  elected  cease 
to  act  imtil  the  Presbytery  deems  the  church  reasonably 
harmonious  in  receiving  them  in  their  official  capacity. 
In  1835  the  Assembly  declared  that  the  election  of  El- 
ders for  a  term  of  years  is  irregular,  but  this  cannot  in- 
validate the  ordination  of  those  thus  elected.|  In  1798 
certain  persons  were  selected  by  the  Pastor  and  ordained 
as  Elders  without  an  election  by  the  people.  The  Assem- 
bly declared  that  they  were  not  Elders,  and  must  be  re- 
garded as  private  members  only.§ 

Who  may  vote  for  Elders  and  Deacons  ? 

In  1822  the  Assembly  declared  that  it  was  desirable 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  341.     See  p.  56. 

t  Ibid.,  pp.  337,  341,  350. 

i  Ibid.,  pp.  338,  342.     See  p.  294.  §  Ibid.,  p.  337. 


284  ELECTION    OF    ELDERS    AND    DEACONS. 

that  communicants  only  should  have  the  right  to  vote, 
yet  as  custom  in  some  churches  has  extended  the  right 
to  members  who  are  not  communicants,  such  election 
should  not  be  considered  void.  The  Elder  is  a  repre- 
sentative of  the  people,  to  exercise  spiritual  rule  in  the 
church ;  an  unbaptized  person,  not  belonging  to  the  vis- 
ible kingdom  of  Christ  (though  a  pewholder),  can  have 
no  right  to  decide  who  shall  be  officers  and  exercise  dis- 
cipline in  the  church.  In  1855  the  O.  S.  Assembly,  "in 
accordance  with  the  decision  of  former  Assemblies,  iudsred 
it  most  consonant  to  our  '  Form  of  Government'  that  com- 
municants only  should  vote  in  the  election  of  Elders." 
And  the  same  rule  must  apply  to  Deacons,  as  the  elec- 
tions of  both  sets  of  officers  are  considered  together.* 
Communicants  under  discipline,  being  suspended  from 
the  privileges  of  church  members,  are  of  course  debarred 
from  voting  for  officers.  Members  whose  names  have 
been  placed  on  the  reserved  list,  appearing,  cannot  claim 
a  right  to  vote  until  the  Session  shall  summon  them  and 
inquire  concerning  their  deportment  during  their  absence, 
and  shall  restore  their  names  to  the  roll  of  members.  So 
the  O.  S.  Assembly  decided  in  1865.t  This  rule  applies 
also  to  those  who  have  for  two  years  absented  themselves 
from  the  services  of  their  own  church,  yet  against  whom 
the  Session  has  not  deemed  it  expedient  to  proceed  in 
discipline.  In  1859  the  N.  S.  Assembly  declared  that 
minors,  if  communicants,  have  a  right  to  vote,  as  "it  is 
not  in  accordance  with  the  principles  and  usages  of  the 
Pr(!sbyterian  Church  to  distinguish  between  members  of 
the  church  as  to  the  ages  in  voting"  or  in  the  enjoyment 
of  their  other  privileges.^ 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  341,  342.     See  p.  56, 

t  Ibid.,  lip.  625-628.    See  p.  148.  %  Ibid.,  p.  342. 


WHO    MAY    BE    ELDERS    AND    DEACONS.  285 

Who  may  be  elected  as  Ruling  Elders  and  Deacons? 

"7/1  all  cases  the  persons  elected  must  be  male  members  in 
full  communion  in  the  chu7'ch  in  which  they  are  to  exercise 
their  office.''  They  should  of  course  possess  the  qualifica- 
tions set  forth  in  Scripture,  and  the  gifts  necessary  for  the 
discharge  of  their  duties.*  Ministers  cannot  be  elected, 
even  if  unemployed  and  disposed  to  serve.  They  are  not 
members  of  the  particular  church,  but  Ministers,  having 
their  own  functions,  and  are  members  of  Presbytery.f 
"  On  foreign  missionary  ground  it  may  be  expedient  for 
a  Minister  to  perform  temporarily  the  function  of  a 
Ruling  Elder  without  having  been  specially  set  apart 
to  the  office."!     Appendix,  p.  520. 

ni.  May  a  person  duly  elected  decline  the  office? 

The  call  to  an  office  in  the  Church  is  really  from  God, 
who  makes  known  his  will  through  his  word,  providence 
and  Spirit.  The  person  elected  to  an  office  ought  not  to 
accept  or  decline  it  because  of  personal  preference,  but 
should  consider  prayerfully,  (1)  that  God  gives  the  qual- 
ifications and  duties  of  the  office  described  in  the  word 
of  God ;  (2)  that  he  guides  his  people  in  their  choice  of 
officers;  and  (3)  that  his  providential  dealings  reveal  his 
will  concerning  each  one  (Matt.  10  :  5-42;  Acts  20  :  28; 
1  Tim.  5:17;  Rom.  12:6;  Acts  6  : 1-6).  The  Southern 
Church  says:  "Ordinary  vocation  to  office  in  the  Church 
is  the  calling  of  God  by  the  Spirit,  through  the  inward 
testimony  of  a  good  conscience,  the  manifest  approbation 
of  God's  people  and  the  concurring  judgment  of  the 
lawful  court  of  Christ's  house,  according  to  his  word."§ 
When  one  has  been  elected  to  an  office  he  should  have 

*  See  p.  56.  f  Mnutes  G.  A.  1874,  P-  84. 

X  Presbyterian  Digexf,  pp.  339,  340. 
§  Book  of  Church  Order,  ch.  vi.,  sect.  i. 


286  ELECTION   OF   ELDERS   AND    DEACONS. 

time  for  consideration,  and  when  he  ^^ shall  have  declared 
his  willingness  to  accept  thereof,  he  shall  be  set  apart  in  the 
following  manner." 

IV.  What  is  ordination  ? 

It  is  the  solemn  setting  apart  of  one  by  prayer  and  the 
laying  on  of  hands  to  an  office  in  the  Christian  Church 
(Acts  6:6;  13  :  2,  3;  1  Tim.  4  :  14).  The  imposition 
of  hands  "  is  in  accordance  with  apostolic  example,  and  in 
the  opinion  of  the  Assembly  it  is  proper  and  lawful ;"  yet 
each  church  may  adopt  the  other  method  of  ordination, 
simply  by  prayer.* 

What  is  the  difference  between  ordination  and  installation? 

Ordination  inducts  into  the  office,  making  him  a  Ruling 
Elder  or  Deacon ;  installation  gives  him  authority  to  ex- 
ercise his  office  over  a  particular  church.  Ordination  is 
not  to  be  repeated  when  a  Ruling  Elder  or  Deacon  re- 
moves to  another  church,  and  is  called  to  exercise  his 
office  there,  but  he  must  be  installed  in  that  church.* 

Are  ordination  and  installation  necessary  ? 

A  person,  though  elected,  is  not  an  Elder,  has  no  seat 
in  Session  or  other  church  courts,  until  he  be  ordained. 
Nor  has  he  any  official  relation  to  the  particular  church 
until  he  be  installed.  If  after  installation  he  remove  or 
in  any  way  terminate  the  exercise  of  his  office,  re-election 
and  installation  are  necessary .f  In  1868  the  N.  S.  As- 
sembly determined  that  if  an  Elder  return  an  unused 
certificate  of  dismissal,  giving  satisfactory  reasons  to  the 
Session  for  not  using  it,  he  may  be  restored  to  the  mem- 
bership of  the  church,  and  that  he  is  thereby  reinstated 
as  an  acting  Elder  of  the  particular  churcli.;}; 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  347.     See  pp.  57,  197. 
t  Ibid.,  pp.  347,  349,  351 ;  Minutes  O.  A.  18S0,  p.  46.    See  pp.  290- 
298.  X  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  352. 


ORDINATION    OF   ELDERS    AND   DEACONS.         287 

Wliat  is  the  form  of  the  ordination  service? 

(1)  ^^ After  sermon,  the  Minister  shall  state  in  a  concise 
tnanner  the  warrant  and  nature  of  the  office  of  Ruling 
Elder  or  Deacon,  together  with  the  character  -proper  to  he 
sustained  and  the  duties  to  be  fulfilled  by  the  officer  electJ' 

(2)  In  the  presence  of  the  congregation  the  candidate 
shall  make  his  ordination  vows  in  answer  to  the  consti- 
tutional questions,*  and  the  church  shall  express  their 
readiness  to  receive  and  submit  to  him  in  the  Lord.* 

(3)  He  shall  then  be  ordained.  (4)  He  and  the  congre- 
gation shall  receive  a  charge  from  the  Minister.  And 
(5)  the  right  hand  of  fellowship  shall  be  given  to  him 
by  the  members  of  the  existing  Session  in  the  presence 
of  the  congregation.f 

Who  is  to  perform  this  service  ? 

The  Pastor  of  the  church.  If  the  church  is  being 
organized,  the  chairman  of  the  committee  of  Presbytery 
shall  ordain  the  officers.| 

In  regard  to  the  act  of  ordination  there  is  a  dif- 
ference of  opinion.  Some  hold  that  the  ordaining 
power  belongs  alone  to  the  Minister,  and  therefore 
the  Pastor  only  should  lay  on  hands.  Others,  while 
denying  to  Elders  any  part  in  the  ordination  of  Min- 
isters, hold  that  they  should  take  part  with  the  Pastor 
in  the  laying  on  of  hands  in  the  ordination  of  Elders 
and  Deacons. 

In  this  section  nothing  is  said  about  laying  on  of 
hands,  but  simply  that  "  the  Minister  shall  proceed  to  set 
apart  the  candidate  by  prayer  to  the  office  of  Ruling  Elder 
{or  Deacon,  as  the  case  may  be)."  Some  have  therefore 
concluded  that  the  laying  on  of  hands  should  be  per- 
formed only  in  the  ordination  of  Ministers,  where  it  is 

*  See  pp.  288,  289.  f  See  p.  290.  t  See  p.  32. 


288  ELECTION    OF    ELDERS    AND    DEACONS. 

required.*  .  In  1851  the  O.  S.  Assembly  was  overtured 
"to  determine  whether,  in  the  ordination  of  Elders  and 
Deacons,  it  is  unconstitutional  or  otherwise  improper  to 
use  the  rite  of  laying  on  of  hands  by  the  existing  Elder- 
ship." And  it  was  resolved,  "  That  the  Session  of  the 
church  be  referred  to  the  minutes  of  the  Assem- 
bly of  1842  for  an  answer  to  said  overture."  This  de- 
cision was, "  that  it  is  left  to  the  discretion  of  each  church 
Session  to  determine  the  mode  of  ordination  in  this  re- 
spect"— by  the  imposition  of  hands  or  simply  by  prayer. 
Before  the  division  of  the  Church,  the  Assembly  in  1833 
declared  that  "the  imposition  of  hands,  however,  we  are 
aware,  in  many  of  our  churches  is  practiced ;  and  as  it  is 
plainly  in  accordance  with  apostolic  example,  it  is  the 
opinion  of  the  Assembly  that  it  is  proper  and  lawful. 
We  conceive  that  every  church  in  this  respect  may  with 
propriety  be  left  to  adopt  either  of  these  two  modes  as 
they  think  suitable  and  best."f 

Is  it  necessary  that  Elders  or  Deacons  should  adopt  the 
standards  of  the  Churcli  ? 

The  constitutional  questions  require  it.  A  communv- 
cant  is  received  on  profession  of  faith  in  the  redemption 
of  Christ;  no  other  term  of  communion  can  be  demanded. | 
When  he  becomes  an  officer,  to  exercise  rule  and  discipline, 
and  in  the  different  courts  to  decide  on  questions  of  doc- 
trine, he  must  receive,  adopt  and  approve  of  the  standards 
of  the  Church. 

What  vows  must  the  Elder  or  Deacon  make  at  ordination  ? 

They  are  contained  in  the  constitutional  questions 
which  the  Minister  ^^  shall  propose  to  the  candidate  in 
■presence  of  the  congregation" — viz. : 

*  Form  of  Oovernment,  ch.  xv.,  sect.  xiv.     See  p.  353. 
f  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  347,  X  ^^  P-  137, 


INSTALLATION    OF    ELDERS    AND    DEACONS.       289 

1.  "Do  you  believe  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments  to  be  the  word  of  God,  the  only  infallible  rule 
of  faith  and  'practice  f " 

2.  "Do  you  sincerely  receive  and  adopt  the  Confession 
of  Faith  of  this  Church  as  containing  the  system  of  doc- 
trine taught  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  f" 

3.  "Do  you  approve  of  the  government  and  discipline 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  these  United  States  f^ 

4.  "Do  you  accept  the  offi.ce  of  Ruling  Elder  (or  Dea- 
con, as  the  case  may  be)  in  this  congregation,  and  promise 
faithfully  to  perform  all  the  duties  thereof  f 

5.  "Do  you  promise  to  study  the  peace,  unity  and  pur- 
ity of  the  Church  f 

What  is  the  form  of  installation  ? 

The  fourth  and  fifth  of  the  above  questions,  having 
reference  to  the  exercise  of  the  office  in  the  particular 
church,  are  a  part  of  the  installation  service.  "Tlie  El- 
der or  Deacon  elect  having  answered  these  questions  in  the 
affirmative,  the  Minister  shall  address  to  the  members  of  the 
church  the  following  question,  viz. :" 

"Do  you,  the  members  of  this  church,  acknowledge  and 
receive  this  brother  as  a  Ruling  Elder  (or  Deacon),  and  do 
you  promise  to  yield  him  all  that  honor,  encouragement  and 
obedience  in  the  Lord  to  which  his  office,  according  to  the 
toord  of  God  and  the  constitution  of  this  Church,  entitles 
himf 

"The  members  of  the  church  having  answered  this  ques- 
tion in  the  affirmative  by  holding  up  their  right  hands,  the 
Minister  shall  proceed  to  set  apart  the  candidate  by  prayer 
to  the  office  of  Ruling  Elder  {or  Deacon),  etc."  If,  how- 
ever, he  has  been  ordained,  "  the  Minister  shall,"  on  re- 
ceiving the  reply  of  the  members  of  the  chnrch,  "de- 
clare him  to  be  an  Elder  (or  a  Deacon)  of  tliat  church." 
25  T 


290  ELECTION    OF    ELDEliS    AND    DEACONS. 

^'He  shall  (jive  to  him  and  to  the  congregation  an  exhorta- 
tion suited  to  the  occasion."  * 

V.  What  is  the  meaning  of  the  giving  the  right  hand 
of  fellowship? 

"  JMien  there  is  an  existing  Session,  it  is  'proper  that  the 
members  of  that  body,  at  the  close  of  the  service  and  in  the 
face  of  the  congregation,  take  the  newly -ordained  Elder  by 
the  hand,  saying  in  words  to  this  purpose :  '  We  give  you  the 
right  hand  of  fclloioship  to  take  part  of  this  office  with  us.'" 
It  is  a  solemn  public  recoguition  of  the  newly-ordained 
officers  by  those  already  in  office — a  welcoming  them  to 
their  responsibilities  and  labors  as  fellow-Jaborers  in 
Christ's  Church,  and  a  pledge  of  sympathy  and  of  co- 
operation (Gal.  2  :  9). 

Are  ordination  and  installation  necessary  before  an  elect- 
ed Elder  can  take  his  seat  in  the  Session  or  take  part  m 
judicial  acts  ? 

So  the  N.  S.  Assembly  decided  in  1868.  A  judicial  de- 
cision rendered  by  a  Session  of  unordained  men  would  not 
be  valid,  lawful  or  binding  on  the  accused.  In  1849  the 
O.  S.  Assembly  declared  that  when  an  Elder  in  any  way 
terminated  his  relation  to  the  Session  by  whom  he  was  or- 
dained, he  requires  installation  before  he  can  regularly 
exercise  again  the  office  in  the  same  church  or  in  any 
other.f  This  was  reaffirmed  by  the  Assembly  in  1878. J 
This  is  true  also  in  regard  to  term-Elders  continuing  or 
resuming  the  exercise  of  their  office  after  the  term  for 
which  they  were  at  first  elected  has  expired.§ 

VI.  Are  these  offices  perpetual? 

"The  offices  of  Riding  Elder  and  Deacon  are  both  per- 
petual, and  cannot  be  laid  aside  at  pleasure."      "  But 

*  Presbijierian  Difffsf,  p.  348.  f  Ihkl,  p.  347. 

X  Minutes  G.  A.  1878,  p.  71.  §  See  p.  298. 


SUSPENSION   FROM    COMMUNION   AND   OFFICE.    291 

while  the  office  is  perpetual,  the  time  of  its  exercisti  in 
each  individual  congregation  may  be  left  to  the  decision 
of  the  church  itself."* 
How  may  a  Ruling  Elder  or  Deacon  cease  to  act? 

1.  By  removal  from  the  church  in  which  he  was  in- 

stalled.f 

2.  By  deposition  after  trial.J 

3.  "An  Elder  or  Deacon  may  become  by  age  or  infirm- 
ity incapable  of  performing  the  duties  of  his  office" 

4.  "Or  he  may,  though  chargeable  with  neither  heresy 
nor  immorality,  become  unacceptable  in  his  official  charac- 
ter to  a  majority  of  the  congregation  to  which  he  belongs'' 

5.  If  an  Elder  cannot  acquiesce  in  the  decisions  of  the 
superior  courts,  he  should  resign. § 

6.  By  the  recommendation  or  order  of  the  superior 
courts.  II 

7.  By  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  service.T[ 

K  an  officer  be  dismissed  to  another  church,  when  does 
his  official  relations  terminate  ? 

"  The  dismissal  of  a  Ruling  Elder  by  letter  from  a 
church  terminates  his  official  relation  to  that  church." 
So  the  JST.  S.  Assembly  determined  in  1867,  and  the  next 
year  added,  "that  if  he  returned  his  certificate  of  dis- 
missal unused,  with  reasons  satisfactory  to  the  Session, 
his  reception  again  by  the  Session  reinstates  him  in 
office."  ** 

Does  suspension  from  the  communion  involve  suspension 
from  office  ? 

An  Elder  must  be  "  in  full  communion."     If,  there- 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  349.  f  l^bicL,  pp.  115,  351.     See  p.  59. 

X  Ibid.,  p.  116.  I  Ibid.,  p.  349  ;  see  p.  298 ;  Minutes  Q.  A. 

1880,  p.  47.  II  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  350. 

^  See  p.  294.  **  Presbytetnan  Digest,  pp.  351,  352. 


292  ELECTION    OF    ELDERS    AND    DEACONS. 

fore,  he  lose  his  standing  as  a  member,  lie  ceases  to  be 
an  Elder.  Restoration  to  church  privileges  does  not 
restore  him  to  office.  "  He  cannot  be  restored  to  the  func- 
tions of  his  office  without  a  special  and  express  action 
of  the  Session  for  that  purpose,  with  the  acquiescence 
of  the  church."  But  an  Elder  may  be  suspended  from 
office  and  not  from  the  communion.  He  may  be  un- 
faithful as  an  officer,  yet  be  not  chargeable  with  any- 
thing against  his  character  as  a  communicant.  So  there 
may  be  reasons  for  continuing  his  suspension  from  office 
after  he  be  restored  to  church  privileges.* 

May  an  Elder  without  charge  sit  in  a  church  court  ? 

In  1835  the  Assembly  declared  that  an  Elder  without 
charge  could  not  sit  as  a  member  of  a  church  court.*  In 
1875  an  eighth  section  was  added  to  this  chapter  of 
the  "  Form  of  Government,"  permitting  the  election 
of  Elders  for  a  term  of  service,  and  provision  is  made 
for  those  Elders  whose  term  has  expired  "  to  represent 
that  particular  church  in  the  higher  judicatories  Avhen 
appointed  by  the  Session  or  the  Presbytery."  f 

Who  is  to  judge  of  the  incapacity  of  an  officer  to  serve  ? 

He  may  be  conscious  of  it,  or  the  Pastor  or  Session 
may  inform  him  of  the  fact:  they  are  his  proper  ad- 
visers. 

VII.  What  action  shall  the  Session  take? 

"  W/iOicver  a  lluUng  Elder  or  Deacon  from  either  of 
these  causes,  or  from  any  other  not  inferring  crime,  shall 
be  incapable  of  serving  the  church  to  edification,  the  Ses- 
sion shall  take  order  on  the  subject,  and  state  the  fact,  to- 
gether with  the  reason  of  it,  on  their  records.  Provided 
always  that  nothing  of  this  hind  be  done  without  the  con- 
cii,rrence  of  the  individual  in  question,  unless  by  the  advice 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  349.    See  p.  219.  f  See  p.  297. 


ELDER  OR  DEACON  UNACCEPTABI-E.      293 

of  Presbytery.^'  If  he  consent,  the  Session  may  relieve 
him  of  his  active  duties.  He  remains  an  Elder,  but  is 
without  charge.  If  he  refuse  to  concur,  the  record  goes 
before  Presbytery  for  review,  and  that  body  may  give 
advice  that  he  cease  to  be  an  acting  Elder,  or  the  Session 
may  bring  the  matter  before  the  Presbytery  by  reference 
or  by  petition.  If  the  reasons  of  his  incapacity  infer 
crime,  he  should  be  regularly  tried  and  disciplined. 

How  may  Ms  imacceptability  be  ascertained  ? 

The  Session,  according  to  this  section,  is  the  proper 
body  to  inform  the  officer  when  this  unacceptability  is 
manifest  and  increasing.  A  passing  dissatisfaction,  be- 
cause of  some  official  action  or  arising  from  peculiar  cir- 
cumstances, is  not  here  contemplated,  and  sliould  not  be 
a  reason  for  his  retirement ;  but  reference  is  made  to  a 
permanent  unacceptability,  which  cannot  be  removed, 
and  which  will  interfere  with  his  usefulness.  It  would 
evidently  be  improper  and  destructive  of  the  unity  and 
peace  of  the  church  for  meetings  to  be  called  or  peti- 
tions to  be  circulated  to  test  the  acceptability  of  officers. 
In  1863  the  O.  S.  Assembly  sustained  a  complaint  "that 

the  Synod  had  by  a  committee  visited  the church 

to  see  if  any  member  of  the  Session  was  unacceptable  to 
the  people."  And  in  1867  it  was  asked,  "Has  a  church 
Session  the  right  to  submit  to  their  church  members  the 
acceptableness  or  non-acceptableness  of  the  acting  board 
of  Ruling  Elders,  or  any  portion  of  the  board,  and  to 
ask  the  church  to  settle  the  question  by  a  vote  of  the 
members  ?"  The  answer  given  was  :  "  In  case  of  unac- 
ceptableness  on  the  part  of  any  member  of  a  church 
Session,  and  the  matter  cannot  be  amicably  arranged  by 
consent  of  parties,  the  proper  method  of  redress  is  by 
memorializing  the  Presbytery  to  give  such  directions  as 

25  * 


294  ELECTION    OF    ELDERS    AND    DEACONS. 

in  its  judgilient  the  necessities  of  the  case  may  require 
under  the  provisions  of  the  '  Form  of  Government.' "  * 

May  the  Presbytery,  without  the  request  of  the  Session, 
require  the  retirement  of  an  olficer  ? 

In  1869  the  O.  S.  Assembly  referred  to  "Form  of 
Government,"  ch.  x.,  sect,  viii.,  and  replied  that  Presby- 
tery has  power  to  visit  its  churches,  inquire  into  their 
state,  redress  evils,  and  "  to  order  whatever  pertains  to 
their  spiritual  welfare,  without  being  requested  by  the 
Session."  *  Of  course  the  Session  or  the  Elder  has  the 
right  to  complain  to  the  Synod  of  any  improper  exercise 
of  this  power. 

May  the  Presbytery  order  the  restoration  of  an  Elder 
who  has  resigned? 

He  has  consented  to  the  act  of  Session,  and  has  ceased 
to  be  an  acting  Elder.  This  is  not  a  judicial  action  of 
the  Session,  and  the  Presbytery  is  not  competent  to  re- 
verse it.  It  has  been  done  according  to  the  order  given 
in  this  section.  The  Elder  can  be  restored  only  by  a 
new  election  by  the  church. f 

If  an  Elder  refuse  to  act  and  leave  the  church,  is  he  to 
be  regarded  as  an  Elder  of  that  church  ? 

The  Session  should  take  action,  declaring  the  facts  of 
the  case,  or  tabling  charges  against  him  for  his  disorderly 
conduct.| 

VIIL  May  Ruling  Elders  be  elected  for  a  term  of  years  ? 

''If  any  particular  church,  by  a  vote  of  members  in  full 
communion,  shall  prefer  to  elect  Ruling  Elders  for  a  lim- 
ited time  in  the  exercise  of  their  functions,  this  may  be 
dowe."  The  office  is  perpetual.  But  a  distinction  is 
here  made  between  the  office  and  the  exercise  of  its 
functions  —  between  an  acting  Elder  and  one  who  is 

*  Presbyterian  Digcd,  p.  350.  f  -^^'f'v  P-  35 1.  J  See  p.  148. 


TERM    ELDERSHIP.  295 

for  the  time  not  exercising  his  office,  as  in  the  case  of 
an  Elder  removing  out  of  the  bounds  of  the  congrega- 
tion which  elected  him.  This  section  was  added  in  1875. 
The  constitution  evidently  required  an  Elder  to  continue 
in  the  discharge  of  his  duties  until  removal  or  age  dis- 
qualified him.  In  1849  the  N.  S.  Assembly  decided  that 
they  are  not  prepared  to  recommend  a  change  in  the 
constitution  which  would  authorize  Elders  to  be  elected 
for  a  term  of  years,  "  believing  that  the  evils  of  [such]  a 
change  would  far  outweigh  those  of  the  present  system." 
In  1857  the  O.  S.  Assembly  resolved  that  it  was  not 
expedient  to  send  down  to  the  Presbyteries  the  pro- 
posed alterations  of  the  constitution,  making  the  office 
temporary.  In  1869,  in  a  judicial  case,  it  condemned 
the  action  of  a  church  adopting  the  plan  of  electing  El- 
ders for  a  term  of  years.*  After  the  reunion,  in  a  judi- 
cial case  in  1872,  this  question  was  involved,  and  by  the 
final  vote — 145  to  173 — a  complaint  (against  the  elec- 
tion of  Elders  for  a  term  of  service)  was  not  sustained. 
The  minute  adopted  was :  "  The  case  seemed  to  present 
in  a  judicial  form  the  question  of  the  interpretation  of 
our  constitution  concerning  the  election  of  Elders  and 
Deacons,  and  yet  many  of  the  Assembly  do  not  regard 
it  as  really  involving  that  question.  Hence,  in  defining 
its  own  action  the  Assembly  is  not  to  be  understood  as 
deciding  that  in  any  case  the  actual  service  of  the  Elder- 
ship should  be  either  permanent  or  limited;  but,  while 
the  office  is  perpetual,  the  time  of  its  exercise  in  each  in- 
dividual congregation  may  be  left  to  the  decision  of  the 
church  itself,  according  to  the  mode  approved  and  in  use 
in  such  church."  The  next  year  many  overtures  were 
presented,  and  were  referred  to  a  committee  of  seven  t/) 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  3-13. 


296     ELECTION  OF  ELDERS  AND  DEACONS. 

report  to  the  Assembly  of  1874,  which  sent  down  an 
overture  to  the  Presbyteries.  This  was  declared  in  1875 
to  be  adopted  by  the  vote  of  101  in  the  affirmative,  36 
in  the  negative  and  3  divided.  Thus  the  eighth  section 
of  this  chapter  was  added.*  It  is  left  to  each  church  to 
determine  whether  to  adopt  this  plan  (which  is  called  that 
of  the  "  Kotary  Eldership"  or  "  Term  Eldership  "),  or  the 
old  plan,  which  has  always  been  recognized  and  prac- 
ticed in  the  Church,  and  which  is  called  the  "Permanent 
Eldership." 

For  how  long  a  term  may  Elders  be  elected  ? 

"Provided  the  full  term  he  not  less  than  three  years,  and 
the  Session  be  made  to  consist  of  three  classes,  one  of  which 
only  shall  he  elected  every  year."  When  a  church  shall  de- 
termine to  elect  Ruling  Elders  for  a  limited  time,  "  they 
shall  be  elected  and  set  apart  to  their  office;  Eldei*s 
in  office  by  virtue  of  an  earlier  appointment  cease  to  be 
acting  Elders  in  that  particular  church."  f  They  are  of 
course  eligible  for  a  re-election  under  this  new  plan.  At 
the  first  election  the  three  classes  must  be  formed,  but 
this  section  does  not  determine  how  this  is  to  be  done. 
There  are  three  methods  which  would  be  in  conformity 
with  church  usage:  (1)  The  congregation  may  determine 
the  number  of  Elders  to  be  elected,  and  proceed  to  elect, 
some  for  one  year,  some  for  two,  and  others  for  three 
years.  Thus  the  Board  of  Publication  was  reorganized 
in  1870.|  (2)  The  congregation  may  elect  the  whole 
number,  whose  names  shall  be  arranged  al])habctically 
and  divided  into  three  classes,  who  shall  serve  one,  two 
and  three  years.     Thus  the  organization  of  the  Board  of 

*  Prrslnjierian  Di'jest,  p.  345;  Minnies  G.  A.  1S7J/,  \\  01;  1S75,  p. 
520. 

t  Minutes  0.  A.,  1S76,  p.  74.  X  rreshi/lenan  Digcxt,  p.  438. 


TERM    ELDEESHIP.  297 

Foreign  Missions  was  effected  in  1837.*  (3)  The  con- 
gregation may  elect  the  whole  number,  and  leave  them 
to  determine  how  the  division  into  classes  is  to  be  ef- 
fected. After  the  first  election  there  must  be  an  annual 
election  of  Elders,  who  shall  serve  for  three  years.  Judg- 
ing from  the  practice  of  the  Assembly  in  regard  to  its 
Boards,  it  would  not  be  improper  at  these  annual  elec- 
tions to  choose  Elders  to  serve  through  the  unexpired 
term  of  those  who  for  any  reason  have  ceased  to  be  act- 
ing Elders.  The  Session  cannot  be  divided  into  more 
or  less  than  three  classes.  The  classes  must  be  as  nearly 
equal  in  number  as  possible,  and  the  election  must  take 
place  annually.  There  is  nothing  to  forbid  the  re-elec- 
tion of  those  whose  term  has  just  expired ;  indeed,  the 
Assembly  ordinarily  re-elects  the  members  of  Boards,  so 
that  without  interruption  they  retain  their  positions  for 
many  years.     Appendix,  p.  534. 

How  are  the  Elders  to  be  regarded  wlio  are  not  re-elected  ? 

The  "Elders,  once  or'dained,  shall  not  be  divested  of  the 
ojicc  when  they  are  not  re-elected.^'  They  are  still  Elders; 
their  advice  may  be  obtained  by  the  Session,  although  they 
can  have  no  vote  there.  They  cannot  appear  as  counsel 
of  an  accused  person  before  the  Session,  for  such  counsel 
must  belong  to  the  judicatory  before  which  he  appears. t 
^^But  \they]  shallbe  entitled  to  representthat particular  church 
in  the  higher  judicatories  ivhen  appointed  by  the  Session  or 
the  Preshyteryy  This  has  been  interpreted  by  the  As- 
sembly of  1876  "that  the  Elders  referred  to,  by  due 
appointment  of  the  Session  or  Presbytery,  may  become 
members  of  any  of  the  courts  of  the  Church  above  the 
Session."  % 

*  Fre^byterian  Digest,  p.  430.  f  BooJ:  of  Discipline,  eh.  iv.,  sect.  xxi. 

X  Minutes  G.  A.  1876,  p.  74. 


298  ELECTION    OF    ELDERS    AND    DEACONS. 

Must  re-elected  Elders  be  reinstalled  ? 

The  Assembly  in  1878  decided  that  they  must  be  re- 
installed before  they  can  resume  their  seats  in  Session.* 
In  1880  the  Assembly  was  asked,  "Is  the  reinstallation 
of  Elders,  re-elected  on  the  expiration  of  their  term  of 
service,  essential  to  the  continued  exercise  of  their  office 
in  that  churcli,  so  that  unless  reinstalled  they  cease  to  be 
members  of  the  Session  ?"  In  reply  reference  was  made 
to  the  action  in  1878,  "Avith  the  expression  of  this  As- 
sembly, that  when  any  persons  or  Sessions  are  informed 
of  the  judgment  and  will  of  the  highest  court  of  the 
Church  in  exposition  of  matters  of  government  or  law, 
a  refusal  or  neglect  to  obey  and  regard  the  law  and  judg- 
ment so  expressed  would  seem  to  be  a  clear  indication 
that  such  parties  should  not  sit  or  act  in  a  Session." 
Tliis  action  "  is  not  intended  to  be  retroactive,  or  in  any 
way  to  affect  the  validity  of  the  action  of  Sessions  in 
which  Elders  regularly  elected,  but  not  reinstalled,  may 
have  sat  as  members."  f  In  1 881  the  Assembly  was  asked 
to  allow  congregations  to  reinstall  re-elected  Ruling  El- 
ders or  not,  according  to  their  usage  and  discretion.  The 
following  reply  was  made:  "While  it  is  not  essential  to 
the  validity  of  his  office  that  a  Ruling  Elder,  re-elected 
in  a  church  where  the  limited-term  service  prevails,  be 
reinstalled,  it  is  nevertheless  more  orderly  that  the  fact 
of  his  re-election  be  recognized  by  his  reinstallation,  or 
in  some  way  equivalent  thereto." |     Appendix,  p.  534. 

May  a  charch  having  adopted  the  term  Eldership  return 
to  the  plan  of  the  permanent  Eldership  ? 

It  may,  by  a  vote  of  the  members  in  full  communion. 
Yet  such  changes  ought  not  to  be  made  without  due  con- 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  1878,  p.  7L  f  Ibid.,  1880,  pp.  46,  47,  84. 

X  Ibid.,  1881,  p.  59L 


LICENSING    CANDIDATES.  299 

sideration  and  with  a  view  of  establishing  a  permanent 
custom  in  the  church.*  This  is  imj)lied  also  in  this 
section. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


OF     LICENSING     CANDIDATES     OR     PROBATIONERS      TO 
PREACH    THE   GOSPEL. 

I.  Who  are  Candidates  ? 

They  are  male  communicants  applying  for  admission 
into  the  ministry,  and  who  are  in  course  of  preparation 
for  it.  They  receive  the  title  as  soon  as  they  make  formal 
application  and  are  taken  under  care  of  Presbytery.  They 
are  called  Probationers,  because  they  are  under  trial,  ^Hhat 
Hie  churches  may  have  an  opjportunify  to  form  a  better 
judgment  respecting  the  talents  of  those  by  whom  they  are 
to  be  instructed  and  govei^ned."  ^'TJie  Holy  Scriptures  re- 
quire that  some  trial  be  previously  had  of  them  who  are  to 
be  ordained  to  the  ministry  of  the  gospel,  that  this  sacred 
ojice  may  not  be  degraded  by  being  committed  to  weak  and 
unworthy  men."  They  continue  Candidates  or  Probation- 
ers until  they  be  ordained  as  Ministers  or  be  regarded  by 
the  Presbytery  as  uncalled  to  the  sacred  office.  None 
should  be  received  as  Candidates  unless  they  be  convinced 
that  they  have  been  called  of  God  to  the  ministry,  and 
satisfy  the  Presbytery  as  to  "the  motives  which  influence 
them  to  desire  the  sacred  office."  f 

Who  are  Probationers  ? 

The  O.  S.  Assembly  made  a  distinction  between  Can- 
didates and  Probationers,  regarding  students  under  care 
*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  341.  f  See  p.  195. 


300  OP   LICENSING    CANDIDATES. 

of  Presbytery  in  their  preparatory  course  as  Probationers, 
and  as  Candidates  after  they  enter  upon  their  theological 
studies.*  But  our  "Form  of  Government"  uses  the  term 
Candidates  to  include  all  who,  under  the  care  of  Presby- 
tery, are  preparing  for  the  ministry,  and  Probationers  to 
describe  those  who  are  licensed  to  preach,  f 

What  is  a  call  to  the  ministry? 

"The  Protestant  doctrine,  as  we  understand  it,  on  this 
subject  is  this  :  First,  that  the  call  of  the  ministry  is  by 
the  Holy  Ghost.  .  .  .  The  Holy  Ghost  confers  the  gifts 
for  the  ministry  ;  and  by  thus  conferring  them,  and  ex- 
citing the  desire  to  exercise  them  for  the  glory  of  God 
and  the  service  of  Christ,  thereby  manifests  his  will  that 
those  thus  favored  should  consecrate  themselves  to  the 
preaching  of  the  gospel.  This  is  the  true  divine  call  to 
the  ministry.  Second,  the  evidence  of  this  call  to  him 
who  receives  it,  is  the  consciousness  of  the  inward  gift  and 
drawing  of  the  Spirit,  confirmed  by  those  external  work- 
ino-s  of  Providence  which  indicate  the  will  of  God  as  to 
his  vocation.  The  evidence  of  the  Church  is  everything 
Avhich  tends  to  prove  that  the  Candidate  has  the  quali- 
fications for  the  office  of  the  ministry,  and  that  he  is  led 
to  seek  it  from  motives  due  to  the  operation  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  Third,  ordination  is  the  solemn  expression  of  the 
judgment  of  the  Church,  by  those  appointed  to  deliver 
such  judgment,  that  the  Candidate  is  truly  called  of  God 
to  take  part  in  this  ministry,  thereby  authenticating  to 
the  people  the  divine  call.  This  authentication  or  ordi- 
nation is,  under  all  ordinary  circumstances,  the  necessary 
condition  for  the  exercise  of  the  ministry  in  the  Church." | 
The  Assembly  has  frequently  urged  parents  to  consecrate 

*  Assembly's  Digest,  p.  403.  f  Sec  chs.  xiv.  and  xv. 

X  Church  Polity,  p.  olS. 


CANDIDATE— A    WOMAN.  301 

their  infant  sons  to  tlie  ministry,  as  was  Samnel  (1  Sam. 
1:11),  praying  that  God  would  call  them  to  this  high 
office,  and  instructing  them  as  to  the  honor  of  being 
thus  chosen  of  God  and  the  Church's  need  for  more 
Ministers.  When  one  is  considering  the  question  he 
should  seek  the  advice  of  his  Pastor  and  the  Elders  of 
the  church.* 

May  a  woman  be  a  Candidate  ? 

In  1872  the  Assembly  reiterated  the  deliverance  of  the 
Assembly  of  1832:  "  Meetings  of  pious  women  by  them- 
selves for  conversation  and  prayer,  whenever  they  can 
conveniently  be  held,  we  entirely  approve.  But  let  not 
the  inspired  prohibitions  of  the  great  Apostle  of  the  Gen- 
tiles, as  found  in  his  Epistles  to  the  Corinthians  and  to 
Timothy,  be  violated.  To  teach  and  exhort  or  lead  in 
prayer,  in  public  and  promiscuous  assemblies,  is  clearly 
forbidden  to  women  in  the  holy  oracles."  f  In  1874  the 
Assembly,  in  response  to  an  overture,  "expresses  no 
opinion  as  to  the  scriptural  view  of  woman's  right  to 
speak  and  pray  in  the  social  prayer-meeting,  but  com- 
mits the  whole  subject  to  the  discretion  of  the  Pastors 
and  Elders  of  the  churches."!  This  does  not  authorize 
any  woman  to  apply  as  a  Candidate  for  the  ministry. 
In  1878  the  Assembly  refused  to  sustain  an  appeal 
against  the  decision  of  the  Presbytery  and  Synod  con- 
demning a  Pastor  for  introducing  into  his  pulpit  a 
woman,  permitting  and  encouraging  her  to  preach  and 
teach.  The  Synod  held  "that  the  passages  of  Scripture 
referred  to  in  the  action  of  the  Presbytery  (1  Cor.  14  : 
33-37  and  1  Tim.  2  :  11-13)  do  prohibit  the  fulfilling 
by  women  of  the  offices  of  public  preachers  in  the  reg- 

*  Assembly's  Digest,  p.  184;  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  361. 
f  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  353.  J  Minutes  G.  A.  1874,  P-  66. 

26 


302  OF   LICENSING   CANDIDATES. 

ular  assemblies  of  the  Church ;"  "  and  the  Assembly  re- 
affirmed the  language  above  quoted  from  the  decision  of 
the  Synod  as  expressing  their  own  opinion."  * 

How  are  Candidates  to  be  tested  ? 

^^  For  this  pur-pose  Presbyteries  shall  license  Probation- 
ers to  preach  the  gospel,  that  after  a  competent  trial  of  their 
talents,  and  receiving  from  the  churches  a  good  report,  they 
may  in  due  time  ordain  them  to  the  sacred  office.''  Licen- 
sure is  therefore  a  part  of  their  trial  for  the  ministry. 

n.  To  wliat  Presbytery  should  the  Candidate  apply  ? 

^^  Every  Candidate  for  licensui-e  shall  be  taken  on  trial 
by  that  Presbytery  to  which  he  most  naturally  belongs,  and 
he  shall  be  considered  as  most  naturally  belonging  to  that 
Presbytery  within  the  bounds  of  which  he  has  ordinarily 
resided.''  In  1856  the  N.  S.  Assembly,  and  in  1857  the 
O.  S.  Assembly,  recommended  that  Candidates  should  be 
required  to  put  themselves  under  the  care  of  Presbytery 
as  soon  as  possible,  that  they  may  receive  careful  super- 
vision during  their  entire  course.  This  was  reiterated  in 
1872,  when  Candidates  were  required  "to  connect  them- 
selves with  Presbyteries  to  which  they  naturally  belong 
unless  for  extraordinary  reasons,  of  which  the  Presbyte- 
ries must  be  the  judges." f  ^' But  in  case  any  Candidate 
should  find  it  more  convenient  to  put  himself  under  the  care 
of  a  Presbytery  at  a  distance  from  that  to  which  he  most 
7iaturally  belongs,  he  may  be  received  by  the  said  Presby- 
tery on  his  producbig  testimonials,  either  from  tlie  Presby- 
tery within  the  bounds  of  ivJuch  he  has  commonly  resided, 
or  from  any  two  Ilinisters  of  that  Presbytery  in  good 
standing,  of  his  exemplary  piety  and  other  requisite  qual- 
ifications." 

*  3nnutes  O.  A.  1878,  p.  102.     See  pp.  74,  81. 
f  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  365,  366. 


CANDIDATE    RECEIVED    BY    PRESBYTEKY.         303 

riie  time  when  a  Candidate  should  be  received  must 
be  determined  by  circumstances.  This  section  and  the 
decisions  of  the  Assembly  above  quoted  require  that  he 
should  be  under  the  care  of  Presbytery  during  the  whole 
of  his  theological  course.  Sometimes,  however,  a  Candi- 
date needs  aid  from  the  Church  in  his  academical  and 
collegiate  course,  in  which  case  he  must,  be  received 
under  the  care  of  Presbytery  before  he  is  recommended 
to  the  Board  of  Education.*  In  1872  the  Assembly  de- 
cided that  no  Candidate  should  be  recommended  to  the 
Board  for  aid  "until  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  Church 
at  least  one  year,  and  has  also  passed  his  classical  studies 
for  an  academic  year,  except  in  extraordinary  cases  to  be 
determined  by  the  Board."  f 

m.  How  is  a  Candidate  to  be  received  under  the  care  of 
Presbytery? 

"  The  application  for  his  reception  ought  usually  to  be 
made  by  his  Pastor  or  a  member  of  the  Presbyterial  Com- 
mittee on  Education."*  "It  is  proper  and  requisite  that 
Candidates  applying  to  Presbytery  to  be  licensed  to  preach 
the  gospel  produce  satisfactory  testimonials  of  their  good 
moral  character,  and  of  their  being  regular  membo's  of 
some  particular  chur^chj'  This  is  usually  done  by  the 
Pastor,  or  in  his  absence  by  the  applicants  presenting  a 
certificate  from  the  Session,  testifying  to  their  standing  in 
the  church,  and  the  recommendation  of  them  as  giving 
good  promise  of  usefulness  in  the  ministry.  It  is  not 
uncommon  for  the  Presbytery  to  appoint  a  committee  to 
converse  in  private  with  the  applicants  and  to  report  con- 
cerning the  impression  made  upon  them  of  their  fitness. 
"It  is  the  duty  of  the  Presbytery,  for  their  satisfaction  in 
regard  to  the  real  piety  of  such  Candidates,  to  examine 
*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  361.  f  Ibid.,  p.  366. 


304  OF    LICENSING    CANDIDATES. 

thera  respecting  their  experimental  acquaintance  with  relig- 
ion, and  the  motives  which  influence  them  to  desire  the  sa- 
cred oflice.  This  examination  should  be  close  and  partic- 
ular, and  in  most  cases  may  best  be  conducted  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Presbytery  only."  If  this  be  satisfactory,  they 
are  received  under  care  of  Presbytery.*  The  O.  S.  As- 
sembly made  a  distinction  between  those  who  were  in 
their  preparatory  course  and  those  who  had  entered  upon 
their  theological  training,  preferring  "that  young  men 
within  their  bounds  who  are  looking  forward  to  the 
work  of  the  ministry  should  be  officially  recognized  as 
Candidates  under  the  care  of  Presbyteries  only  when 
they  are  prepared  to  enter  their  theological  studies,  and 
that  until  that  time  they  be  regarded  simply  as  students 
on  probation,  under  the  general  watch  and  patronage  of 
the  Presbytery."  f  But  the  "  Form  of  Government " 
does  not  make  this  distinction  between  Candidates  and 
Probationers.!     Nor  does  the  reunited  Church. 

Must  the  Candidate  be  a  communicant  in  the  Presbyterian 
Church  ? 

If  he  be  a  member  of  some  other  Church,  he  must  be 
regularly  dismissed  to  and  received  by  a  Presbyterian 
church  before  he  can  be  taken  under  the  care  of  Pres- 
bytery as  a  Candidate.  The  Assembly  defined  the  phrase 
"some  particular  church"  to  mean  "some  particular 
Presbyterian  church."  § 

What  supervision  should  the  Presbytery  take  of  the 
studies  of  the  Candidate? 

The  O.  S.  Assembly  in  1860  enjoined  "upon  every 
Presbytery  which  has  not  so  done,  to  appoint  a  com- 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  310,  363. 

t  Assembly's  Digest,  p.  403.  %  See  p.  299. 

§  Minutes  O.  A.  1S74,  p.  84. 


BOARD    OF    EDUCATION.  305 

mittee,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  make  careful  Inquiry 
as  to  the  conduct  and  progress  in  study  of  all  the  Can- 
didates under  its  care,  and  to  make  report  to  their  Pres- 
bytery at  every  stated  meeting,  or  oftener  if  presbyterial 
action  is  needed."  *  The  Candidate  is  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Presbytery  in  regard  to  his  studies.  The 
Presbytery  may  at  any  time  arrest  his  progress  if  it  be 
discovered  that  he  is  unfit  to  proceed  in  trial  for  the 
sacred  office.f  In  reference  to  the  supervision  of  Can- 
didates, "  it  is  important  to  remember  that  theological 
seminaries  are  intended  to  educate  students,  and  not  to 
determine  their  qualifications  for  the  sacred  office.  Tiie 
duties  and  responsibilities  of  Presbyteries  are  not  to  be 
transferred  to  educational  institutions ;"  "  that  the  rules 
of  the  Board  of  Education  in  reference  to  the  supervis- 
ion of  Candidates  under  its  care,  by  Presbyteries,  be  care- 
fully followed ;  and  that  Presbyteries  give  much  careful 
attention  to  the  official  reports  of  the  theological  faculties 
and  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Board  concerning  the  standing 
of  Candidates  under  their  care,  and  endeavor  to  secure  a 
high  grade  of  scholarship  and  personal  piety."  J 

What  is  tlie  Board  of  Education  ? 

In  1819  the  Assembly  established  a  Board  of  Educa- 
tion, "to  assist  such  Presbyteries  and  associations  in  edu- 
cating pious  youth  for  the  gospel  ministry,  both  in  their 
academical  and  theological  course."  This  was  continued 
"by  the  O.  S.  branch  of  the  Church  from  1838  to  the 
reunion."  "  From  1838  to  1854  the  N.  S.  branch  co-op- 
erated chiefly  with  the  American  Education  Society  or  its 
branches;  in  1854  the  ' Permanent  Committee  of  Edu- 
cation for  the   Ministry'  was  established."     At  the  re- 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  365.  f  Ibid.,  p.  402.     See  p.  195. 

X  Minutes  O.  A.  ISSl,  p.  544. 
26*  U 


306  OF    LICENSING    CANDIDATES. 

union  the  Board  of  Education  was  reorg-anized  and  in- 
corporated,  and  an  act  was  obtained  "authorizing  the 
transfer  of  the  jjroperty  of  the  Permanent  Committee 
on  Education  to  the  Board  of  Education."  *  The  first 
action  of  our  Church  to  aid  Candidates  was  in  1751, 
when  the  Synod  of  New  York  recommended  "to  all 
their  members,  as  far  as  prudence  may  direct,  to  make 
another  annual  collection  for  the  support  of  young  stu- 
dents whose  circumstances  render  them  incapable  to 
maintain  themselves  at  learning,  and  for  other  chari- 
table purposes ;  which  contributions  shall  be  at  the  dis- 
posal of  such  respective  Presbyteries  where  they  are 
made."t  In  1879  the  Assembly  adopted  a  report  which 
carefully  replied  to  the  question,  "Cannot  an  adequate 
ministry  be  better  provided,  without  the  systematic  aid 
of  the  Church  as  a  body,  than  with  it?"  by  stating  the 
necessity  and  expediency  of  aiding  Candidates,  and  re- 
solved "  that  the  Board  of  Education  Is  entitled  to  the 
increased  confidence  and  support  of  all  our  churches  as 
a  wisely  and  efficiently  administered  agency  for  conduct- 
ing our  educational  work."  J 

How  may  Candidates  receive  aid  fi:om  the  Board  ? 

"The  Board  of  Education  shall  only  receive  and  aid 
Candidates  for  the  ministry  of  the  gospel  upon  the  rec- 
ommendation of  a  Presbytery  of  the  Church ;  and  the 
Presbytery  is  responsible  for  their  examination,  subsequent 
care  and  the  designation  of  the  amount  of  aid  to  be  granted 
to  them,  within  the  limits  set  by  the  General  Assembly." 
The  responsibility  really  rests  on  the  Presbytery.  "No 
Candidate  shall  be  received  by  the  Board  who  has  not 

*  Presbyterian  Digt'st,  pp.  353-360. 

t  Records  of  the  Fresbyterian  Church,  p.  246. 

X  Minutes  Q.  A.  1S79,  pp.  602-604.     See  p.  400. 


CANDIDATES  AIDED  BY  BOARD  OF  EDUCATION.  307 

been  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  or  some  close- 
ly-related body  for  at  least  one  year,  who  has  not  been 
recommended  to  the  Presbytery  by  the  Session  of  the 
church  of  which  he  is  a  member,  and  who  is  not  suf- 
ficiently advanced  in  study  to  enter  college,  except  in 
extraordinary  cases."*  In  1872  the  Assembly  recom- 
mended that  the  Candidate  shall  have  passed  his  classical 
studies  for  an  academic  year,  in  ordinary  cases,  before 
he  can  be  helped  by  the  Board.f  In  1877  it  was  sug- 
gested to  Presbyteries  to  require  a  knowledge  of  the 
"Shorter  Catechism." |  The  Presbyteries  are  constantly 
enjoined  to  be  very  careful  in  their  recommendations  as 
to  piety,  motives,  talents,  health,  promise  of  eflficiency, 
habits,  need,  and  success  in  study.  These  recommend- 
ations must  be  renewed  every  year,  in  connection  with 
others  from  the  Sessions  of  the  churches  to  which  they 
severally  belong.  It  is  also  necessary  that  a  report  be 
received  from  the  Professors  under  whom  they  study  as 
to  their  standing  and  conduct.  "  If  at  any  time  there 
be  discovered  in  a  student  such  defect  in  capacity,  dili- 
gence, and  especially  in  piety,  as  would  render  his  intro- 
duction into  the  ministry  a  doubtful  measure,  it  shall  be 
considered  the  sacred  duty  of  the  Presbytery  to  cease  to 
recommend  him,  and  that  of  the  Board  to  withdraw  its 
appropriations."  §  In  1878  this  rule  was  modified,  so  as 
to  read  that  in  such  a  case  "it  shall  be  the  sacred  duty 
of  the  Board  to  communicate  without  delay  the  informa- 
tion received  to  the  Education  Committee  of  his  Pres- 
bytery ;  and  if  on  careful  inquiry  on  the  part  of  the  Pres- 
bytery no  satisfactory  explanation  of  the  defect  can  be 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  361.  f  Ibid.,  p.  366. 

X  Minutes  G.  A.  1877,  p.  535.     See  p.  320. 
^  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  362,  363. 


308  OF    LICENSING  CANDIDATES. 

obtained,  or-if  no  response  he  received  by  the  Board  from 
the  Presbytery  or  from  their  Committee  on  Education, 
within  the  current  quarter,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Board 
to  withdraw  their  aid  altogether."*  The  Board  must 
consider  the  recommendations  and  reports,  and  may  grant 
the  appropriation  as  it  may  be  able.  These  appropria- 
tions are  "not  to  be  regarded  as  a  loan  to  be  refunded  by 
those  who  comply  with  these  rules  and  regularly  enter  the 
ministry,  but  as  a  cheerful  contribution  to  facilitate  and 
expedite  their  preparation  for  it."  But  the  approj)riation 
shall  be  refunded  with  interest  if  any  "student  fail  to 
enter  on  or  continue  in  the  work  of  the  ministry,  unless 
he  can  make  it  appear  that  he  is  providentially  prevented ; 
if  he  cease  to  adhere  to  the  standards  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church ;  if  he  change  his  place  of  study  contrary  to  the 
directions  of  his  Presbytery,  or  continue  to  prosecute  his 
studies  at  an  institution  not  approved  by  it  or  by  the 
Board;  or  withdraw  his  connection  from  the  Church  of 
which  this  Board  is  the  organ  without  furnishing  a  satis- 
factory reason."  "  The  annual  appropriations  to  Candidates 
shall  not  in  ordinary  circumstances  exceed  one  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars  to  theological  or  one  hundred  and  twenty 
dollars  to  collegiate  students,  and  not  more  than  one  hun- 
dred dollars  to  extraordinary  cases  in  the  preparatory 
course." t  In  1879  the  Assembly  resolved,  (1)  "That 
the  theological  seminaries  be  earnestly  requested  to  con- 
tinue their  diligent  attention  to  the  whole  subject  of  ap- 
propriations to  students ;  that  special  care  be  taken  that 
no  one  shall  receive  more  than  is  requisite  for  his  necessary 
expenses ;  that  the  sum  appropriated  to  the  several  stu- 
dents shall  be  determined  by  a  separate  vote  of  the  fac- 
ulty on  each  case,   .  .  .  and  reported  at  the  end  of  the 

*  Minutes  Q.  A.  1878,  p.  49.  f  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  362. 


CANDIDATES   AIDED    BY    BOARD    OF    EDUCATION.   309 

term  to  the  Board  of  Trustees."  (2)  "  That  each  theo- 
logical seminary  be  respectfully  requested  to  report  an- 
nually to  the  General  Assembly  how  many  students  have 
been  aided  by  scholarship  funds,  and  how  many  of  these 
have  also  received  aid  from  the  Board,  and  what  is  the 
maximum  that  has  been  given  to  any  one  student."  (3) 
"  That  hereafter  the  appropriations  of  the  Board  be  styled 
Scholarships."  (The  O.  S.  Assembly  allowed  this  in 
1851.*)  (4)  "That  the  Board  of  Education  shall  deter- 
mine before  each  college  and  seminary  year,  as  far  as 
practicable,  the  exact  amount  the  Board  will  pay  to  each 
student  the  ensuing  year,  and  that  the  first  payment  be 
made  in  the  month  of  October,  .  .  .  and  all  subsequent 
payments  shall  be  made  regularly  at  such  intervals  as 
may  be  determined  by  the  Board."  (5)  "  That  the  Pres- 
byteries be  enjoined  ...  to  exercise  increased  care  in 
recommending  students  in  the  first  instance  to  the  Board 
of  Education  for  aid,  and  also  in  the  renewing  of  such 
applications  from  year  to  year ;  also,  that  they  ...  be 
requested  to  endeavor,  through  the  Standing  Committee 
of  the  Presbytery  on  Education,  to  assist  such  students 
as  may  desire  it,  by  securing  for  them  proper  remuner- 
ative missionary  or  parochial  employment  during  vaca- 
tions." f  In  1880  the  Assembly  resolved  that  the  Board 
be  instructed  "to  withhold  all  support  from  students  who 
stand  below  the  medium  mark  in  the  respective  educa- 
tional institutions,  unless  special  and  satisfactory  reasons 
are  shown  to  the  Board  for  an  exception ;"  "  that,  as  the 
struggle  of  the  college  student  is  as  severe  as  that  of  the 
student  in  the  theological  seminary,  the  Assembly  approves 
of  an  equal  pecuniary  apportionment  to  each."|    In  1881 

*  Aasembli/s  Digest,  p.  402.  f  Minutes  G.  A.  1S79,  p.  562. 

%  Ibid.,  18S0,  p.  71. 


310  OF    LICENSING    CANDIDATES. 

the  Assembly  declared  that  the  assistance  granted  to  Can- 
didates in  the  preparatory  course  should  be  one  hundred 
dollars,  and  to  those  in  colleges  and  in  the  seminaries 
should  be  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  as  soon  as  the 
funds  of  the  Board  shall  warrant  it.  "We  deem  it 
timely  for  the  Assembly  to  declare  that  this  Church 
will  henceforth  aid  all  the  young  men  of  suitable  and 
consecrated  gifts  who  may  look  to  us  for  aid  on  their 
way  to  the  ministry."  *     Appendix,  p.  534. 

What  information  does  the  Board  require  before  granting 
an  appropriation  ? 

"Definite  answers,  by  direction  of  the  Assembly,  will 
invariably  be  required  by  the  Board :  What  is  the  Candi- 
date's name  ?  age  ?  residence  ?  Is  the  Presbytery  satis- 
fied as  to  his  experimental  piety?  as  to  his  motives  for 
entering  the  ministry?  as  to  his  talents?  as  to  his  health? 
as  to  liis  promise  of  practical  efficiency?  Is  he  free  from 
expensive  and  injurious  habits?  What  is  the  lowest 
amount  of  pecuniary  aid  required  to  supplement  his 
really  necessary  expenses  till  the  end  of  the  present 
collegiate  year?  Of  what  congregation  is  he  a  mem- 
ber? How  loncj  has  he  been  in  the  communion  of  the 
Church?  What  is  his  stage  of  study?  Where  engaged 
at  present?  Give  the  name  of  a  responsible  person  (usu- 
ally a  member  of  the  faculty  of  the  institution  or  his 
Pastor)  through  whom  the  appropriations  can  be  sent."t 
To  these  another  question  has  been  added  concerning  his 
ability  to  repeat  the  "Shorter  Catechism." J 

What  are  the  duties  of  Candidates? 

"  The  young  brethren  who  look  to  this  work  are  earn- 
estly and  aflFectionately  reminded  that  all  intellectual  ac- 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  1881,  p.  543.  f  Presbrjterian  Digest,  p.  361. 

t  Minutes  G.  A.  1877,  p.  535.     See  p.  320. 


DUTIES    OF    CANDIDATES.  311 

qnisitions  are  of  little  value  without  the  cultivation  of 
piety,  and  that  they  are  expected  and  required  to  pay 
special  attention  to  the  practical  duties  of  religion,  such 
as  reading  the  Scriptures,  secret  prayer  and  meditation, 
occasional  acts  of  special  consecration  of  themselves  to 
Christ  and  to  his  service  as  their  Redeemer  and  as  the 
Ijord  of  all ;  attendance  on  regular  meetings  on  the  Sab- 
bath and  during  the  week;  endeavors  to  promote  the 
salvation  of  others ;  and  the  exhibition  at  all  times  of  a 
pious  and  consistent  example."  They  should  report,  soon 
after  the  meeting  of  the  Assembly,  to  the  Presbyterial 
Education  Committee  of  their  progress,  wants  and  pros- 
pects, and  they  should  carefully  observe  all  the  rules  of 
the  Board.  If  a  student  finds  it  necessary  to  relinquish 
study  for  a  time,  he  should  give  notice  to  the  Board.* 

Where  may  Candidates  study  ? 

In  1879  the  Assembly  directed  "the  Board  of  Educa- 
tion to  require  the  Candidates  hereafter  received  under 
their  care  to  pursue  their  collegiate  studies,  except  in  very 
extraordinary  cases,  in  institutions  that  sympathize  with 
the  doctrinal  teachings  of  our  Church."  f  This  subject 
early  engaged  the  attention  of  our  Church.  In  1739  the 
Synod  of  Philadelphia  took  steps  to  establish  a  school  or 
seminary  of  learning,  but  the  effort  failed.  In  1744  the 
Synod  opened  a  free  school,  to  be  sustained  by  annual 
collections  in  the  churches,  its  special  object  being  to  pre- 
pare young  men  for  the  ministry.  In  1752  the  Synod 
of  New  York  ordered  collections  for  the  College  of  New 
Jersey,  and  the  next  year  sent  a  delegation  to  Scotland 
for  aid,  with  an  address  to  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
Church  of  Scotland.     The  chief  object  of  the  college  is 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  363. 

t  Minnies  G.  A   1879,  p.  600.     See  p.  317. 


312  OF   LICENSING   CANDIDATES. 

stated  to  be  the  promoting  of  the  interest  of  learning  and 
religion  in  this  infant  country,  and  the  increase  of  a  sound 
educated  ministry.*  In  1790  the  Synod  of  Virginia  rec- 
ommended the  establishment  of  two  general  institutions 
of  learning,  which  afterward  developed  into  Washington 
College  in  Virginia,  and  Jefferson  College  in  Pennsylva- 
nia. These  schools  were  also  "for  the  purpose  of  edu- 
cating young  men  for  the  ministry."  Such  was  the  origin 
of  several  other  colleges.f 

The  theological  training  of  Candidates  must  be  under 
the  direction  of  the  Presbytery.  No  one  shall  be  licensed 
"  unless,  after  his  having  completed  the  usual  course  of 
academical  studies,  he  shall  have  studied  divinity  at  least 
two  years  under  some  approved  divine  or  Profe&sor  of 
theology."  |  At  first  Candidates  studied  with  tljeir  Pas- 
tor or  some  other  Minister,  often  living  in  the  Minis- 
ter's house,  and  were  gradually  introduced  by  him  into 
parish-work.  But  it  was  early  found  that  a  Professor 
of  theology  was  much  needed.  In  1761  an  effort  was 
made  to  secure  a  competent  Professor,  and  a  provisional 
arrangement  was  made.  In  1809  plans  were  proposed 
for  the  establishment  of  a  theological  seminary,  which  in 
1812  resulted  in  the  formation  of  one  at  Princeton,  N.  J., 
which  was  accommodated  in  the  college  buildings  until 
suitable  ones  could  be  erected. §  In  1838  the  O.  S.  As- 
sembly resolved  "  that  Presbyteries  be  and  they  hereby 
are  enjoined  to  see  that  their  Candidates  for  the  ministry 
prose(!ute  their  studies  only  at  such  theological  semina- 
ries or  with  such  divines  as  arc  thus  aj)proved  and  recog- 
nized by  the  Presbyterian  C^liurch  as  sound  in  faith  and 

*  As!<("mbhjn  Dii/est,  jij).  8S8-;?9(). 

t /6(V^,  pp.  403-406.     Seep.  411.  J  See  p.  321. 

§  Assemblijs  Ditjent,  pp.  426-438 ;  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  369-375. 


SEMINARIES.  313 

attached  to  our  ecclesiastical  order  and  forms  of  worship 
as  laid  down  in  the  accredited  standards  of  our  Church."  * 
At  the  reunion  the  Assembly  ordered  that "  every  student 
is  required,  except  in  unusual  circumstances  and  with  the 
expressed  permission  of  his  Presbytery,  to  pursue  a  thor- 
ough course  of  study  preparatory  to  that  of  theology, 
and  when  prepared  to  pursue  a  three  years'  course  of 
theological  studies  in  a  seminary  connected  with  the 
Presbyterian  Church ;  and  no  work  of  preaching  is  to 
be  allowed  to  interfere  with  the  diligent  and  faithful 
prosecution  of  his  prescribed  studies  until  their  close."  f 

What  theological  seminaries  are  approved  by  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly? 

The  seminaries  recognized  and  approved  by  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  are — 

1.  The  Princeton  Theological  Seminary,  founded  by 
the  Assembly  in  1812.     Appendix,  p.  535. 

2.  The  Auburn  Theological  Seminary,  established  by 
certain  Presbyteries  in  Central  and  Western  New  York 
in  1819. 

3.  The  Western  Theological  Seminary,  at  Allegheny, 
founded  by  the  Assembly  in  1825. 

4.  The  Lane  Seminary,  at  Cincinnati,  founded  1829 
by  individuals,  members  of  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
but  not  under  any  ecclesiastical  control. 

5.  The  Union  Theological  Seminary,  in  New  York, 
founded  by  individuals,  and  not  under  any  ecclesiastical 
control,  in  1836. 

6.  The  Danville  Theological  Seminary,  founded  by  the 
O.  S.  Assembly  in  1853.     Appendix,  p.  535. 

7.  The  Seminary  of  the  North-west,  in  Chicago,  111. 
It  was  originally  "  The  Indiana  Theological  Seminary," 

*  Assembly's  Digest,  p.  778.  f  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  362. 

27 


314  OF    LICENSING    CANDIDATES. 

at  South  Hanover,  founded  by  the  Synod  of  Indiana  in 
1830.  It  was  removed  to  New  Albany  in  1840,  and 
placed  under  the  care  of  two,  and  afterward  of  seven, 
Western  Synods.  It  was  offered  to  the  O.  S.  Assembly 
in  1853,  but  was  not  received  until  1859,  when  it  was 
removed  to  Chicago  and  called  the  North-western  The- 
ological Seminary.     Appendix,  p.  536. 

8.  German  Theological  School,  at  Newark,  N.  J.  It 
was  organized  by  the  Presbytery  of  Newark,  but  reorgan- 
ized in  1871  according  to  the  plan  proposed  by  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  and  taken  under  its  care. 
•  9.  German  Theological  School  of  the  North-west,  at 
Dubuque,  Iowa.  It  was  an  individual  enterprise,  with 
the  sympathy  and  personal  support  of  the  Presbyteries 
of  Dubuque  and  Dane.  It  was  reorganized  in  1871  ac- 
cording to  the  plan  proposed  by  the  General  Assembly, 
and  taken  under  its  care. 

10.  Lincoln  University,  Theological  Department,  at  Ox- 
ford, Pa.  It  was  originally  called  the  Ashmun  Institute, 
and  was  designed  for  the  education  of  colored  men,  and 
the  preparation  of  some,  thus  educated,  for  the  ministry. 
In  1871  the  theological  department  was  reorganized  and 
placed  under  the  care  of  the  General  Assembly. 

11.  San  Francisco  Seminary,  organized  by  the  Synod 
of  the  Pacific  in  1871,  and  received  under  the  care  of 
the  General  Assembly  in  1872. 

12.  Blackburn  University,  at  Carlinville,  111.  It  was 
founded  by  Rev.  Gideon  Blackburn,  D.D.,  in  1838.  In 
1857  it  was  incorporated  as  Blackburn  Theological  Semi- 
nary. In  1867  it  was  organized  as  a  university.  In  1872 
it  was  received  under  the  care  of  the  General  Assembly, 
having  adopted  the  plan  proposed  by  that  body  in  1870.* 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  383-396. 


SEMINARIES    AND    GENERAL    ASSEMBLY.  315 

13.  Biddle  University,  at  Charlotte,  N.  C.  Tn  1867 
the  Presbytery  of  Catawba,  through  the  liberality  of 
Mrs.  H.  J.  Biddle  of  Philadelphia,  established  the  Biddle 
Memorial  Institute,  to  train  colored  men  to  be  Catechists, 
Teachers  and  Ministers.  It  was  under  the  care  of  the 
Committee  on  Freedmen,  who  chose  its  Professors.  In 
1875  it  was  taken  under  the  care  of  the  General  Assem- 
bly. In  1876  a  new  charter  was  obtained  for  it  under 
the  name  of  the  Biddle  University.* 

What  control  has  the  Assembly  over  these  seminaries  ? 

Before  the  reunion  several  of  these  seminaries  were 
under  the  direct  control  of  the  General  Assembly,  and 
their  Professors  were  elected  by  that  body.  Some  were 
under  the  supervision  of  Synods  or  Presbyteries,  the 
Professors  being  elected  by  their  Boards  of  Commission- 
ers or  Directors.  Others  were  under  no  ecclesiastical 
control.  In  1870  it  was  agreed  that  "those  theological 
seminaries  that  are  now  under  the  Assembly  may,  if 
their  Boards  of  Direction  so  elect,  be  transferred  to  the 
%vatch  and  care  of  one  or  more  of  the  adjacent  Synods ; 
and  the  other  seminaries  are  advised  to  introduce,  as  far 
as  may  be,  into  their  constitutions  the  principle  of  synod- 
ical  or  Assembly  supervision,  in  which  case  they  shall 
be  entitled  to  an  official  recognition  and  ap])robation  on 
the  part  of  the  General  Assembly."  f 

The  following^  plan  was  adopted  : 

1.  "Accepting  the  offer  so  generously  made  by  the 
Theological  Seminary  in  New  York — a  seminary  inde- 
pendent hitherto  of  all  direct  ecclesiastical  control — to 
invest  the  General  Assembly  with  the  right  of  veto  in 
the  election  of  Professors  in  that  institution,  the  Assem- 

*  3nnntes  O.  A.  1867,  p.  447;  1S75,  p.  588;  1S80,  pp.  93-130. 
f  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  92. 


316  OF    LICENSING    CANDIDATES. 

bly  would  invite  all  those  theological  seminaries  not  now 
under  tiie  control  of  the  General  Assembly  to  adopt  at  their 
earliest  convenience  the  same  rule  and  method,  to  the  end 
that  throughout  the  whole  Presbyterian  Church  there 
may  be  uniform  and  complete  confidence  in  those  entrust- 
ed with  the  training  of  our  Candidates  for  the  ministry." 

2.  "  The  several  Boards  of  Directors  of  those  semina- 
ries which  are  now  under  the  control  of  the  General 
Assembly  shall  be  authorized  to  elect,  suspend  and  dis- 
place the  Professors  of  the  seminaries  under  their  care, 
subject  in  all  cases  to  the  veto  of  the  General  Assembly, 
to  whom  they  shall  annually  make  a  full  report  of  their 
proceedings,  and  to  whom  their  minutes  shall  be  sub- 
mitted whenever  the  Assembly  shall  require  them  to  be 
produced.  These  Boards  shall  further  be  authorized  to 
fix  the  salaries  of  the  Professors  and  to  fill  their  own 
vacancies,  subject  in  all  cases  to  the  veto  of  the  Assem- 
bly." "If  not  vetoed  by  that  (the  next)  Assembly,  tlie 
election  shall  be  regarded  as  complete,  according  to  tlie 
plan  ratified  by  the  Assembly  of  1870,"*    App.,  p.  536. 

What  qualifications  are  required  for  reception  to  the 
seminaries  ? 

The  plan  of  the  seminaries  requires  that  ''every  student 
applying  for  admission  to  the  theological  seminary  shall 
produce  satisfactory  testimonials  that  he  possesses  good 
natural  talents,  and  is  of  a  prudent  and  discreet  de|)ort- 
ment ;  that  he  is  in  full  communion  with  some  regular 
church  ;  that  he  has  passed  through  a  regular  course  of 
academical  study,  or,  wanting  this,  he  shall  submit  him- 
self to  an  examination  in  regard  to  the  branches  of  lit- 
erature taught  in  such  a  course."  f     In  1878  it  was  re- 

*  Presbylerian  Digest,  p.  3SG  ;  Minutes  G.  A.  1S71,  p.  581.    See  p.  265. 
f  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  379. 


LICENSE.  317 

solved,  "That  in  the  judgment  of  this  Assembly  it  is 
highly  desirable  that  some  knowledge  of  the  Hebrew 
language  should  be  required  of  the  students  entering 
our  theological  seminaries — at  least  that  they  should  be 
thoroughly  grounded  in  the  elements  of  that  language. 
And  the  Assembly  therefore  recommend  the  officers  of 
our  seminaries  to  take  such  steps  as  may  in  their  judg- 
ment secure  this  end."  * 

May  Candidates  select  a  seminary  in  wMch  to  study,  and 
may  they  leave  it  at  pleasure  ? 

"  Our  Presbyteries  should  in  all  cases  inquire  into  and 
advise  as  to  the  choice  by  the  Candidate  of  the  institu- 
tion at  which  he  will  pursue  his  studies,  and  that  no 
Candidate  thus  selecting  his  institution  should  leave  it 
for  another  without  the  consent  of  his  Presbytery."  f 

What  is  license  ? 

It  is  a  part  of  trial,  authority  given  by  Presbytery  to 
Probationers  to  preach  the  gospel  for  a  limited  time,  that 
their  gifts  may  be  tested,  and  that  the  Presbyteries  may 
make  "a  competent  trial  of  their  talents,  and,  receiving 
from  the  churches  a  good  report,  they  may  in  due  time 
ordain  them  to  the  sacred  office."  | 

By  what  Presbytery  may  a  Candidate  be  licensed  ? 

By  the  one  "to  which  he  naturally  belongs"  and 
under  which  he  has  studied,  unless  he  be  transferred 
to  some  other  Presbytery;  and  he  should  be  so  trans- 
ferred if  he  proposes  to  labor  in  the  bounds  of  that 
Presbytery.  It  is  irregular  for  a  Candidate  to  go  into 
another  denomination  or  any  other  than  our  own  Pres- 
byteries to  obtain  a  license  and  return  to  labor  in  our 
bounds.§ 

*  Minuter  G.  A.  1878,  p  95.  f  Ibid.,  1877,  p.  535. 

%  See  pp.  195,  299-302.  I  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  365. 

27* 


318  OF    LICENSING    CANDIDATES. 

Is  a  liberal  education  necessary  for  iLcensure  ? 

"  Ji!  is  reGommended  that  the  Candidate  shall  also  be  re- 
quired  to  produce  a  diploma  of  bachelor  or  master  of  arts 
from  some  college  or  university,  or  at  least  authentic  testi- 
monials of  his  having  gone  through  a  regular  course  of 
learning."  The  Assembly  has  always  insisted  ou  this, 
although  in  certain  cases  it  has  waived  this  qualification, 
as  in  1758  the  Synod  permitted  the  reception  of  a  Welsh 
Licentiate,  and  in  1807  the  Assembly  authorized  the 
Presbytery  of  Philadelphia  to  license  a  colored  Candi- 
date.* In  1876  the  Trustees  of  Lincoln  University  over- 
tured  the  Assembly  in  regard  to  the  licensure  and  aid  of 
young  colored  men  seeking  the  ministry,  and  received 
the  following  answer :  "  The  General  Assembly  has  no 
authority  to  modify  the  regulations  of  our  '  Form  of 
Government'  in  respect  to  the  qualifications  of  Licen- 
tiates. At  the  same  time  the  Assembly  recognizes  the 
propriety  of  the  exercise  by  the  Presbyteries  of  a  wise 
discretion  in  their  administration  of  the  functions  en- 
trusted to  them  by  the  CImrch,  in  view  of  the  great 
work  to  be  done  by  our  Church  among  tlie  colored  peo- 
ple in  this  country.  The  Assembly  specially  accords 
such  discretion  to  those  Presbyteries  which  are  providen- 
tially brought  into  special  relations  to  that  work;  mean- 
while, in  view  of  the  experience  of  several  years,  enjoin- 
ing upon  such  Presbyteries  the  obligation  to  taUe  great 
ciire  lest  any  incompetent  or  unworthy  men  be  admitted 
into  the  ministry  of  our  Church." f 

IV.  Why  is  a  thorough  education  necessary? 

^^ Because  it  is  highly  reproacJiful  to  religion,  and  dan- 
gerous to  the  Church,  to  entrust  the  holy  ministry  to  weak 
and  ignorant  men." 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  368.  f  Minutes  G.  A.  1S76,  p.  71. 


TRIALS   FOR   LICENSE. 


319 


IQ  what  studies  sliaU  tlie  Presbytery  examine  tlie  Candi- 
dates ? 

"  The  Presbytery  shall  try  each  Candidate — 

1.  "As  to  his  knowledge  of  the  Latin  language  and  the 
original  languages  in  which  the  Holy  Scriptures  werewrU- 
ten."  Often  the  college  diploma  is  received  as  evidence 
of  his  knowledge  of  Latin  and  Greek. 

2.  "They  shall  also  examine  him  on  the  arts  and  sci- 
ences." A  college  diploma  is  generally  considered  suffi- 
cient evidence. 

3.  "On  theology,  natural  and  revealed." 

4.  "  On  ecclesiastical  history." 

5.  "On  the  sacraments  and  church  government."^ 
These  examinations  are  generally  conducted  in  open 

Presbytery  by  standing  committees  on  examinations,  all 
the  members,  however,  having  the  privilege  of  asking 
questions.  The  examinations  may  be  arrested  at  any 
time  by  vote.  Sometimes  the  Presbytery,  if  large, 
pressed  with  business  and  having  a  large  number  of  Can- 
didates under  their  charge,  order  that  the  Standing  Com- 
mittee on  Examinations  shall  carefully  examine  all  Can- 
didates, and  report  in  detail  the  result  to  Presbytery  for 
final  action.* 

What  written  pieces  are  required  ? 

"And  in  order  to  make  trial  of  his  talents  to  explain  and 
vindicate,  and  practically  to  enforce,  the  doctrines  of  the 
gospel,  the  Presbytery  shall  require  of  him — 

1.  "A  Latin  exegesis  on  some  common  head  in  di- 
vinity." 

2.  "A  critical  exercise,  in  which  the  Candidate  shall  give 
a  specimen  of  his  taste  and  judgment  in  sacred  criticism, 
jrresenting  an  explication  of  the  original  text,  stating  its 

*Seep.  19L 


320  OF   LICENSING   CANDIDATES. 

Gonnedion,  illustrating  its  force  and  beauties,  removing  its 
difficulties,  and  solving  any  important  questions  which  it 
may  present." 

3.  "A  lecture  or  exposition  of  several  verses  of  Scrip- 
ture" and — 

4.  "A  popular  sermon." 

Before  these  are  apj^roved  as  parts  of  trial  they  are 
generally  handed  to  committees  for  examination,  espe- 
cially the  Latin  exegesis  and  the  critical  exercise.  Some- 
times the  Presbytery  require  them  all  to  be  read  before 
the  body  or  a  congregation. 

V.  May  the  Presbytery  demand  further  trials  ? 

"  These  or  other  similar  exercises,  at  the  discretion  of 
the  Presbytery,  shall  be  exhibited  until  they  shall  have  ob- 
tained satisfaction  as  to  the  Candidate's  jnety,  literature 
and  aptness  to  teach  in  the  churches.  The  lecture  and 
'popular  sei'mon,  if  the  Presbytery  think  proper,  may  be 
delivered  in  the  presence  of  a  congregation."  Formerly 
this  was  generally  done,  and  in  many  jjlaces  the  custom 
is  continued.  But  in  the  larger  Presbyteries  the  Candi- 
date is  required  to  read  or  deliver  before  the  body  the 
sermon,  at  least  in  part,  tliat  they  may  have  some  idea 
of  his  qualifications  as  a  public  speaker. 

Is  a  knowledge  of  the  Catechisms  necessary  ? 

In  1868  the  O.  S.  Assembly  required  the  Presbyteries 
"to  see  that  the  Candidates  for  licensure  be  well  versed  in 
the  Catechisms  and  well  furnished  with  Scripture  proof- 
texts.''  *  In  1 880  it  was  "  recommended  that  the  directors 
of  the  theological  seminaries  under  the  care  of  the  As- 
sembly be  requested  to  see  to  it,  that  all  Candidates  for 
the  Presbyterian  ministry  under  their  instruction  be  pre- 
pared for  an  annual  examination  in  the  '  Westminster 
*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  398.     See  p.  307. 


TIME   OF   LICENSE.  321 

Shorter  Catechism.' "      This   was   reiterated    the   next 
year.* 

How  are  the  examinations  and  pieces  to  be  approved  ? 

After  the  various  parts  of  trials  are  completed  to  the 
satisfaction  of  Presbytery  the  Candidate  retires,  and  the 
roll  is  called  to  give  every  member  the  opportunity  to 
express  his  opinion.  The  roll  is  generally  called  a  second 
time  for  the  vote,  to  sustain  these  parts  of  trial.  The 
question  is  then  put.  Shall  the  Candidate  be  licensed  to 
preach  the  gospel ? 

VT.  When  may  a  Candidate  be  licensed  ? 

"That  the  most  effectual  measures  may  he  taken  to  guard 
agaiiist  the  admission  of  insufficient  men  into  the  sacred 
offee,  it  is  recommended  tJiat  no  Candidate,  except  in  ex- 
traordinary cases,  be  licensed,  unless,  after  his  having  com- 
pleted, the  usual  course  of  academical  studies,  he  shall  have 
studied  divinity  at  least  two  years  under  some  appi'oved  di- 
viTie  or  Professor  of  Theology."  Attempts  have  several 
times  been  made  to  increase  the  required  term  to  three 
years.  In  1792  the  Assembly  declared  that  the  rule 
adopted  by  the  Synod  of  New  York  and  New  Jersey,  re- 
quiring three  years,  was  unconstitutional.  In  1792,  1835 
and  1836  overtures  were  sent  to  the  Presbyteries  pro- 
posing that  the  change  be  made  in  the  constitution.  In 
1836  and  1837  a  majority  of  the  Presbyteries  which  an- 
swered voted  in  favor  of  the  change,  but  not  a  majority  of 
the  whole  number.  The  Assembly  has,  however,  often 
declared  "that  it  is  highly  important  that  theological  stu- 
dents continue  the  full  time  of  three  years  in  the  semi- 
nary, and  complete  the  whole  course  of  study  prescribed 
in  the  plan,"  and  that  "it  is  in  general  highly  inexpedient 
for  Candidates  for  the  ministry  to  apply  for  licensure  at 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  18S0,  p.  63 ;  1881,  p.  577. 
V 


322  OF   LICENSING   CANDIDATES. 

such  a  period  of  ilieir  course  of  study  as  would  prevent 
them  from  finishing  the  three  years'  plan  of  studies." 
The  O.  S.  Assembly  in  1844  declared  "  that  the  rule  of 
the  Board  of  Education  (requiring  a  pledge  of  three 
years'  study)  does  not  conflict  with  the  constitution."  * 
In  1863  the  O.  S.  Assembly  "  recommended,  in  view  of 
the  great  importance  of  a  thorough  course  of  theological 
study,  that  the  Presbyteries  exercise  great  care  and  pru- 
dence in  regard  to  the  licensing  of  Candidates,  and  that 
in  ordinary  cases  this  be  postponed  until  the  completion 
of  the  theological  course,  that  their  undivided  attention 
may  be  given  to  the  prosecution  of  their  studies  while 
in  the  seminary."  f  In  1876  the  Assembly  replied  to 
an  overture  from  the  Lincoln  University  in  regard  to 
colored  Candidates,  according  certain  discretion.  J 

How  long  is  the  course  of  study  in  the  seminaries  ? 

They  all  have  adopted  a  three-year  course.  §  In  1865 
the  O.  S.  Assembly  approved  the  extension  of  the  course 
in  the  Princeton  Seminary  to  four  years,  agreeably  to  the 
prayer  of  the  Professors  communicated  through  the  Di- 
rectors, and  ordered  that  the  plan  be  changed  so  as  to 
read,  "  The  period  of  continuance  in  the  Theological 
Seminary  shall  in  no  case  be  less  than  four  years  pre- 
vious to  an  examination  for  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of 
Divinity."  II  But  the  next  year  a  modification  Avas  made 
at  the  request  of  the  faculty,  and  because  of  remonstrances 
from  several  Presbyteries,  and  the  Assembly  "sanctioned 
the  adoption  by  any  or  all  of  our  seminaries  of  a  course 
of  studies  to  be  pursued,  purely  at  the  option  of  students, 
during  a  fourth  year,  not  impairing  the  three  years'  course 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  398,  399. 

t  Minutes  G.  A.  1S6S,  p.  19.  %  See  p.  318. 

2  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  379.  ||  Minutes  G.  A.  1805,  p.  573. 


FORM   OF  LICENSURE.  323 

as  heretofore  pursued,  provided  no  increase  of  the  num- 
ber of  teachers  shall  be  asked  on  this  account.  And  no 
distinctive  degree  or  title  shall  be  conferred  on  those 
electing  to  pursue  the  fourth  year's  course,  save  a  cer- 
tificate similar  to  that  now  authorized  for  the  three  years' 
course."*  This  is  the  plan  generally  adopted  in  the 
seminaries. 

May  a  Candidate  be  licensed  to  preach  without  expecting 
to  be  ordained? 

'  "  The  General  Assembly  cannot  sanction  the  practice 
of  licensure  as  a  means  to  attain  a  higher  measure  of 
usefulness  merely,  without  aiming  to  reach  ordination, 
as  this  would  be  virtually  to  make  two  grades  of 
preaching  officers."  f 

May  a  Candidate  preach  without  a  license  ? 

It  is  certainly  contrary  to  the  design  of  this  chapter, 
and  dangerous  to  the  churches.  Those  who  teach  and 
preach  should  be  under  the  supervision  of  the  church 
courts.  The  Assembly  has  often  expressed  disapproval 
of  those  who  preach  without  license.  |  Yet  Candidates 
are  encouraged  to  try  their  gifts,  under  the  direction  of 
their  Pastors  or  of  the  Presbytery,  during  the  seminary 
vacations,  in  prayer-meetings  and  even  in  church  services, 
and  in  destitute  places  as  colporteurs.  §  Sometimes  ap- 
plication is  made  to  Presbytery  for  a  temporary  license 
to  preach  during  the  second  vacation  within  the  bounds 
of  the  Presbytery  and  under  the  supervision  of  some 
Pastor.  II 

VII.  How  is  the  Candidate  to  be  licensed  ? 

"if  the  Presbytery  be  satisfied  with  his  trials,  they  shall 
then  proceed  to  license  him  in  the  following  manner :  The 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  1866,  ]p.  46.  f  Presbyter ia7i  Dic/esf,  ]).  401. 

X  Ibid.,  p.  352.  §  See  p.  422.  1|  8ee  p.  80. 


S24  OF   LICENSING   CANDIDATES. 

Moderator  shall  propose  to  him  the  following  questions" 
the  Candidate  standing  before  the  Moderator  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Presbytery,  and  often  of  a  congregation : 

1.  "Do  you  believe  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments  to  be  the  word  of  God,  the  only  infallible  rule 
of  faith  and  practice  f 

2.  "Do  you  sincerely  receive  and  adopt  the  Confession 
of  Faith  of  this  Church,  as  containing  the  system  of  doc- 
trine taught  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  f 

3.  "Do  you  promise  to  study  tJie  peace,  unity  and  pur- 
ity of  the  Church  f 

4.  "Do  you  promise  to  submit  yourself,  in  the  Lord,  to 
the  government  of  this  Presbytery,  or  of  any  other  Presby- 
te7'y  in  the  bounds  of  which  you  may  be  called  f 

VIII.  "The  Candidate  having  answered  these  questions 
in  the  affirmative,  and  the  Moderator  having  offered  up  a 
prayer  suitable  to  the  occasion,  he  shall  address  himself  to 
the  Candidate  to  the  following  purpose,^'  the  members  of 
Presbytery  standing:  "In  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  by  that  authority  which  he  hath  given  to  the 
Church  for  its  edification,  we  do  license  you  to  preach  the 
gospel  wherever  God  in  his  providence  may  call  you ;  and 
for  this  purpose  may  the  blessing  of  God  rest  upon  yoUy 
and  may  the  Spirit  of  Christ  fill  your  heart.    Amen." 

Is  it  necessary  that  he  assent  to  the  standards  ? 

Such  is  the  requirement  of  this  section,  and  his  licensure 
certifies  to  the  fact.  In  1730  the  Synod  declared  unani- 
mously that  Intrants  or  Candidates  must  receive  and  adopt 
the  Westminster  Confession  and  Catechisms,  with  the  Di- 
rectory, at  their  admission,  in  the  same  manner  and  as  fully 
as  the  members  of  Synod.  This  was  enforced  in  1734,  in 
1758  and  1825,  and  has  ever  since  been  required.* 
*  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  46,  49,  55,  57,  411. 


LICENSE.  325 

What  record  shall  be  made  ? 

''A  record  shall  be  made  of  the  licensure  in  the  following 
or  like  form,  viz. : 

"At ,  the  —  day  of ,  the  Presbytery  of 

having  received  testimonials  in  favor  of 

,  of  his  having  gone  through  a  regular  course  of 


literature,  of  his  good  moral  character,  and  of  his  being  in 
the  communion  of  the  Church,  proceeded  to  take  the  usual 
parts  of  trial  for  his  licerisure;  and  he  having  given  sat- 
isfaction as  to  his  accomplishments  in  literature,  as  to  his 
experimental  acquaintance  with  religion,  and  as  to  his  pro- 
ficiency in  divinity  and  other  studies,  the  Presbytery  did, 
and  hereby  do,  express  their  approbation  of  all  these  parts 
of  trial;  and  he  having  adopted  the  Confession  of  Faith 
of  this  Church,  and  satisfactorily  answered  the  questions 
appointed  to  be  put  to  Candidates  to  be  licensed,  the  Pres- 
bytery did,  and  hereby  do,  license  him,  the  said 

■ ,  to  preach  the  gospel  of  Christ,  as  a  Probationer 


far  the  holy  ministry,  within  the  bounds  of  this  Presbytery^ 
or  wherever  else  he  shall  be  orderly  called." 

A  copy  of  this  record,  or  some  similar  certificate  of 
his  licensure,  signed  by  the  Moderator  and  Stated  Clerk, 
should  be  handed  to  the  Licentiate  as  a  certification  to  the 
church  of  his  authority  to  preach. 

What  powers  have  Licentiates  ? 

They  are  licensed  to  preach  the  gospel  as  part  of  their 
probation  for  the  ministry.  They  belong  to  the  laity,  and 
are  subject  to  the  Session.  "Although  Candidates  and 
Licentiates  are  in  training  for  the  gospel  ministry,  and  in 
consequence'  of  this  are  placed  under  the  care  of  Presbyte- 
ries, and  in  certain  respects  become  immediately  responsi- 
ble to  them,  yet  they  are  to  be  regarded  as  belonging  to  the 
order  of  the  laity  till  they  receive  ordination  to  the  whole 

28 


326  OF   LICENSING    CANDIDATES. 

work  of  the  gospel  ministry."  *  They  cannot  administer 
the  sacraments.f  Nor  pronounce  the  benediction.|  Nor 
solemnize  marriage.  Yet  the  O.  S.  Assembly  in  1844  re- 
solved that  they  "do  not  consider  them  as  violating  any 
rules  of  the  Church  by  solemnizing  marriages  in  those 
States  where  the  civil  laws  expressly  authorize  them  to 
do  it."  §  They  have  no  seat  or  voice  in  Session  or  any 
church  court,  yet,  as  part  of  their  preparation,  they 
should  be  present  as  frequently  as  possible.||  If  acting 
as  Stated  Supplies  of  churches,  they  are  not  to  be  re- 
garded as  Pastors,  nor  to  sit  as  Moderators  in  the  Session 
or  congregational  meetings.^ 

IX.  May  a  Candidate  be  transferred  from  one  Presbytery 
to  another  ? 

"  When  any  Candidate  for  licensure  shall  have  occasion 
while  his  trials  are  going  on  to  remove  from  the  bounds  of 
his  own  Presbytery  into  those  of  another,  it  shall  be  con- 
sidered as  regular  for  the  latter  Presbytery,  on  his  produ^ 
cing  proper  testimonials  from  the  former,  to  take  up  his 
trials  at  the  point  at  which  they  were  left,  and  comluct 
them  to  a  conclusion  in  the  same  manner  as  if  they  had 
been  commenced  by  themselves."  This  implies  that  he  re- 
ceives a  regular  dismissal  from  the  Presbytery  which  be- 
gan his  examinations.  It  is  not  lawful  for  him  to  place 
himself  under  the  care  of  a  Presbytery  while  under  the 
care  of  another,  especially  after  being  refused  a  license.** 

X.  How  may  a  Licentiate  be  transferred  ? 

"/n  like  manner,  when  any  Candidate  after  licensure 

*  Preshylerian  Dir/est,  p.  402.     See  p.  130. 
f  Directory  for  Woiship,  chs.  vii.  and  viii.     See  pp.  83,  90. 
X  Ansembly^s  Dif/ent,  Y>.  108.     See  p.  114. 
^  Presbyterian  iJiyest,  p.  402.     See  p.  95. 
II  Assembly's  Digest,  p.  86.  f  See  p.  127. 

.    ,**  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  144.     See  p.  208.  '' 


LTCENBE    RENEWED.  327 

hhall,  by  the  permission  of  his  Presbytery,  remove  without 
its  limits,  an  extract  of  the  record  of  his  licensiire,  accom- 
panied with  a  presbyterial  recommendation,  signed  by  the 
Clerk,  shall  be  his  testimonials  to  the  Presbytery  under 
whose  care  he  shall  comeJ' 
XI.  For  how  long  a  time  may  a  Candidate  be  licensed  ? 

The  constitution  leaves  it  indefinite;  the  Presbytery  was 
therefore  at  liberty  to  recall  the  license  at  any  time  when 
satisfied  that  the  preaching  is  not  to  the  edification  of 
the  churches.  The  Assembly  in  1872  adopted  the  fol- 
lowing rule:  Every  license  shall  expire  at  the  end  of 
four  years,  unless  the  Licentiate  during  that  period  be 
called  to  permanent  labor  in  the  Church.  The  Presby- 
tery may  extend  the  license  for  one  year.*  In  1874  this 
was  explained  to  mean  that  all  licenses  then  in  force  ex- 
pired in  four  years  from  the  date  of  that  action."}" 

May  a  license  be  renewed  ? 

There  are  cases  in  which  this  seems  proper,  as  after 
restoration  to  health,  return  from  foreign  travel,  resum- 
ing study  after  being  engaged  for  a  time  in  teaching  or 
secular  employments,  or  even  restoration  after  church 
discipline.  The  Assembly  seems  to  refer  to  such  cases 
among  others  in  its  deliverance,  "that  the  Assembly  has 
no  power  over  the  functions  of  the  Presbytery  in  grant- 
ing and  continuing  licenses,  save  that  of  review  and  con- 
trol ."t 

May  a  license  be  recalled  ? 

"When  a  Licentiate  shall  have  been  preaching  for  a 
considerable  time,  and  kis  services  do  not  appear  edifying 
to  the.  churches,  the  Presbytery  may,  if  they  think  proper, 
rec<dl  his  license  f^^  or  whenever  it  is  discovered  that  the 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  401. 

t  Minutes  G.  A.  187 Ji,  p.  81.     See  p.  195.  J  Ibid.,  p.  82. 


328  ELECTION   OF    PASTOR. 

Candidate  is  unfit  for  the  ministry ;  or  when  charged 
with  immorality,  in  which  case  the  Presbytery  should 
not  only  deprive  him  of  his  license,  but  also  remit  him 
to  the  Session  for  further  discipline;  or  whenever  the 
Presbytery  is  dissatisfied  with  his  conduct  or  preaching.* 

Where  may  a  Licentiate  preach  ? 

He  may  preach  "within  the  bounds  of  this  Presbytery, 
or  wherever  else  he  shall  be  orderly  called  ;"  such  is  the 
wording  of  his  license.  He  is  under  the  care  of  Pres- 
bytery, which  should  therefore  see  that  he  is  properly 
employed  within  their  bounds  in  vacant  churches  or  mis- 
sionary stations ;  or,  with  the  approbation  of  Presbytery, 
he  may  labor  elsewhere,  or  enter  the  service  of  the  Boards 
of  the  Church. 

How  are  Candidates  licensed  in  other  churches  ? 

See  pp.  196,  357. 


CHAPTER   XV. 


OF    THE    ELECTION    AND    ORDINATION    OF    BISHOPS    OR 
PASTORS,   AND   EVANGELISTS. 

I.  What  is  a  vacant  church  ? 

Ever}'  congregation  without  a  Pastor  is  to  be  regarded 
as  a  vacant  churcli,  though  it  ma-  have  a  Stated  Supply 
and  be  regularly  ministered  to  by  the  Pastor  of  another 
church,  f 

How  is  a  vacant  church  to  be  ministered  unto  ? 

The  Session  of  a  vacant  church,  under  its  responsibil- 
ity to  Presbytery,  must  take  charge  of  the  pulpit  and  de- 
termine who  shall  preach  therein.    Permission  should  be 

*  Presbytenan  Diyesl,  p.  402.  f  See  p.  181. 


PASTOR   SECURED.  329 

asked  of  Presbytery  for  leave  to  supply  the  pulpit,  and 
the  Session  should  invite  those  who  are  sent  to  them  rec- 
ommended by  Presbytery.*  The  Session  should  ''  use 
their  best  endeavors  to  promote  the  settlement  of  a  Pas- 
tor in  the  speediest  manner  possible  consistently  with  the 
peace,  order  and  edification  of  the  congregation ;  and  it 
is  the  privilege  of  the  people  or  any  portion  of  them  to 
complain  to  the  Presbytery  when  they  tliink  that  the  Ses- 
sion, after  being  suitably  requested,  neglect  or  refuse  to 
convene  the  congregation  to  elect  a  Pastor."  f  If  it  be 
inconvenient  or  impossible  to  procure  a  Minister  on  any 
Sabbath,  the  services  should  be  conducted  by  the  Session 
according  to  "  Form  of  Government,"  ch.  xxi.X 

How  may  a  Session  procure  a  Pastor  ? 

There  are  several  methods. 

1.  The  Presbytery  or  Pastors  or  other  persons  may 
recommend  certain  Licentiates  and  Ministers  as  suitable 
Candidates.  These  the  Session  may  invite  in  turn  to  preach 
one  or  more  Sabbaths,  until  the  congregation  appear  pre- 
pared to  unite  on  one  for  their  Pastor.  The  Licentiates 
and  Ministers  thus  presented  to  the  church  are  styled 
Candidates  for  the  pulpit.  This  method  is  called  "can- 
didating."  It  is  in  very  general  use,  but  has  many  serious 
objections,  placing  the  Minister  in  a  disadvantageous  posi- 
tion, and  failing  to  give  the  church  a  fair  opportunity  to 
judge  of  his  qualifications,  and  often  destroying  the  har- 
mony of  the  congregation. 

2.  A  second  may  be  called  "  the  Stated-Supply  plan." 
The  Session  may  select  from  those  recommended  to  them, 
or  of  whom  they  have  some  knowledge,  one  who  in  their 
judgment  gives  promise  of  usefulness,  and  may  engage  him 

*  Directory  of  Worship,  ch.  vi.,  sect.  vi.     See  p.  212. 

f  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  403.  %  See  p.  505. 

28* 


33(y  ELECTION   OF   PASTOR. 

as  a  Stated  Supply  for  a  few  months  or  a  year.  This  may 
be  done  with  the  expressed  intention  of  settlement  as 
Pastor  at  the  end  of  the  time  if  agreeable  to  both  parties. 
This  also  has  objections :  Ministers  and  Licentiates  do 
not  like  so  long  a  period  of  uncertainty  and  trial,  and 
the  church  cannot  receive  much  edification  while  it  con- 
tinues. 

3.  Another  plan  is  "  by  committee."  The  Session/ 
dreading  the  evils  of  the  above  plans,  may  supply  the 
pulpit  by  inviting  settled  Pastors,  Professors  or  other 
Ministers  who  cannot  be  regarded  as  Candidates  to 
preach  for  them  while  the  church  is  vacant.  A  meet- 
ing of  the  congregation  is  called,  and  a  committee,  com- 
posed of  the  Session  or  a  part  of  it  and  of  certain  per- 
sons of  the  congregation,  is  appointed  to  select  a  Pastor. 
The  congregation  may  indeed  veto  their  choice,  but  it  is 
generally  understood  that  the  decision  of  the  committee 
shall  be  accepted  by  the  church.  Recommendations  are 
received,  and  the  committee  visit  different  churches  and 
hear  the  Pastors  in  their  ordinary  ministrations,  and 
become  acquainted  with  their  work  and  personal  char- 
acter. When  they  are  satisfied  that  they  have  found  a 
Minister  who  will  be  acceptable  to  the  congregation, 
they  may  converse  with  him  on  the  subject,  and  if  he  be 
willing  to  consider  their  offer,  he  may  desire  to  visit  the 
church  and  preach  there  before  giving  a  final  answer. 
The  committee  render  their  report  to  the  congregation, 
and  the  call  is  voted  and  prepared  for  the  action  of 
Presbytery.  Even  a  Licentiate  may  be  heard  by  this 
method :  the  committee  may  request  some  neighboring 
Pastor  to  invite  him  to  preach  in  his  pulpit,  or  they  may 
visit  the  church  to  which  he  has  been  sent  to  labor  by 
the  Presbyterv.     This  method  is  often  employed  by  the 


PASTOR    PROCURED.  331 

more  important  ch  urches  where  Ministers  of  reputation  and 
experience  are  sought.  It  is  growing  in  favor,  having  many 
decided  advantages,  affording  as  it  does  to  Ministers  and 
churches  better  opportunities  of  forming  correct  judg- 
ments. A  modified  form  of  this  plan  is  sometimes  em- 
ployed. The  congregation  may  have  a  small  or  inexpe- 
rienced Session,  and,  possessing  great  confidence  in  their 
former  Pastor  or  some  other  Minister,  may  appoint  him 
the  committee,  with  like  powers  as  above,  to  select  a 
Pastor  for  them.  This,  however,  places  great  responsi- 
bility upon  the  Minister. 

.  Our  book  does  not  prescribe  the  plan  to  be  pursued, 
but  it  assumes  that  the  congregation  as  such,  or  by  their 
chosen  representatives,  shall  have  ample  opportunity  to 
be  "satisfied  with  his  ministerial  qualifications"  and  have 
some  experience  of  his  labors  before  they  shall  make 
out  a  call  for  a  Pastor.*  "  JVIien  any  Probationer  sludl 
have  preached  so  much  to  the  satisfaction  of  any  congre- 
gation as  thai  the  people  appear  prepared  to  elect  a  Pas- 
tor, the  Session  shall  take  measures  to  convene  them  for 
this  purpose." 

May  several  Candidates  appear  before  the  congregation? 

This  seems  in  most  cases  unavoidable.  Some  Candi- 
dates do  not  make  any  marked  impression  upon  the  peo- 
ple, and  the  Session  do  not  deem  it  advisable  to  invite 
them  again.  Several  may  therefore  be  heard  more  or 
less  favorably  before  the  church  is  ready  to  make  out  a 
call.  The  Session  should  be  careful  in  their  selection  of 
Candidates,  and  should  restrict  the  number  as  much  as 
possible,  to  prevent  divisions  in  the  church.  This  sec- 
tion implies  that  when  a  Probationer  is  a  Candidate, 
he  should  be  for  some  time  the  prominent,  if  not  the 
*Seep.  338. 


S32  ELECTION   OF   PASTOR. 

only,  Candidate  before  the  meeting  is  called  to  elect  a 
Pastor. 

Who  may  call  a  meeting  of  the  congregation  to  elect  a 
Pastor? 

"I%e  Session  shall  take  measures  to  convene  them  for  this 
purpose."  They  shall  call  the  meeting  when  "the  people 
appear  prepared  to  elect  a  Pastor."  "And  it  shall  always 
be  the  duty  of  the  Session  to  convene  them  when  a  majority 
of  the  persons  entitled  to  vote  in  the  case  shall  by  a  petition 
request  that  a  meeting  be  called."  The  Session  may  deem 
it  ill-advised  to  call  the  meeting  at  the  time,  because  of 
great  excitement,  undue  haste,  want  of  sufficient  know- 
ledge of  the  Candidate,  or  a  conviction  that  the  Candi- 
date is  unfit  for  the  position.  In  such  cases  the  Session 
may  call  the  meeting,  depending  upon  the  reasonableness 
of  the  congregation  to  listen  to  their  advice  and  adjourn 
the  election.  Or  they  may  refuse  to  call  it,  confident  that 
the  Presbytery  will  sustain  them  in  such  a  course  when 
the  matter  comes  before  that  body  by  complaint;  for  the 
people  or  any  portion  of  them  have  the  privilege  of  com- 
plaining if  "the  Session,  after  being  suitably  requested, 
neglect  or  refuse  to  convene  the  congregation."  The 
Presbytery  is  required  "  to  prevent  all  undue  delay  by 
the  Session  or  the  people,"  and  "to  prevent  all  precip- 
itancy in  the  settlement  of  any  Minister,  or  the  adoption 
of  any  system  of  proceedings  in  the  congregation  incon- 
sistent with  the  real  and  permanent  edification  of  the 
people."*  The  Assembly  of  1877  "would  deprecate 
undue  haste  in  the  consummation  of  pastoral  ties,  as 
itself  prophetic  of  speedy  dissolution."  "Relationships 
designed  to  be  lasting  must  be  carefully  considered  and 
prayerfully  entered  into."f 

*  Presbyterian  Dujest,  \\  403.  f  Minutes  G.  A.  1S77,  p.  543. 


CONGREGATIONAL   MEETING.  333 

"But  in  all  cases  the  meeting  must  be  called  by  the 
Session  or  by  some  higher  court."* 

n.  Wlio  shall  Moderate  the  congregational  meeting  ? 

"  The  Session  shall  solicit  the  presence  and  counsel  of 
some  neighboring  Minister  to  assist  them  in  conducting  the 
election  contemplated^  unless  highly  inconvenient  on  account 
of  distance,  in  which  case  they  may  proceed  without  such 
assistance."  Where  the  Presbytery  has  appointed  a  Min- 
ister to  be  the  Moderator  of  the  Session  of  the  vacant 
church,  he  should  preside  over  the  congregational  meet- 
ing. If  another  Minister  is  called  in  ("some  neighboring 
Minister"),  he  must  be  of  the  same  Presbytery.  If  no 
Minister  can  be  procured,  the  Elder  chosen  by  the  Ses- 
sion as  a  temporary  Moderator  should  preside.  And 
in  all  caseg  the  Clerk  of  Session  is  by  virtue  of  his 
office  Clerk  of  the  meeting.f  If  any  exceptions  be 
taken  from  the  ruling  of  the  Moderator,  they  must 
be  laid  before  the  Presbytery,  which  is  the  reviewing 
court.f 

ni.  How  shall  the  congregational  meeting  be  called  ? 

"On  a  Lord's  day,  immediately  after  public  worship,  it 
shall  be  intimated  from  the  pulpit  that  all  the  members  of 

that  congregation  are  requested  to  meet  on enduing 

at  the  church,  or  usual  place  for  holding  public  worship, 
then  and  there,  if  it  be  agreeable  to  them,  to  proceed  to  the 
election  of  a  Pnstor  for  that  congregation."  There  should 
be  ample  time  given,  that  all  may  be  informed  of  the 
proposed  meeting.  It  is  not  unusual  to  give  ten  days' 
notice  (the  time  specified  in  the  "  Book  of  Discipline " 
for  citations,  etc.);  yet  frequently  the  meeting  is  held 
the  same  week.  According  to  Presbyterian  principles, 
the  election  must  be  directly  by  the  people ;  it  is  their 
*  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  338,  403.  f  See  p.  160. 


334  ELECTION   OF   PASTOR. 

precious  and  inalienable  privilege  to  elect  their  own  Pas- 
tors.* 

How  are  Pastors  chosen  in  other  denominations  ? 

In  the  Episcopal  Church  and  in  the  Reformed  Episco- 
pal Church  the  Pastor  or  Rector  is  elected  by  the  Vestry, 
which  is  composed  of  members  of  the  congregation  chosen 
annually  by  the  parish  to  manage  its  temporal  affairs. 
Notice  of  the  election  must  be  sent  to  the  Bishop,  to- 
gether with  the  acceptance  of  the  Minister.f 

In  the  Methodist  Church  the  Bishop,  assisted  by  the 
Presiding  Elders,  at  the  Annual  Conference  makes  the 
annual  appointments  of  the  Ministers  for  all  the 
churches.  Informal  requests  are  often  received  from 
Ministers  and  church  officers,  but  the  Bishop  has  full 
power.  He  may  appoint  a  Minister  over  the  same  church 
for  three  years  in  succession,  but  not  for  a  longer  time. 
There  is  a  strong  desire  and  elFort  on  the  part  of  many 
to  increase  the  limit  to  four,  or  even  five,  years,  but  it 
meets  with  decided  opposition.| 

In  Congregational  churches  two  distinct  bodies  are  rec- 
ognized— the  church,  which  is  composed  of  the  commu- 
nicants; and  the  society,  or  parish,  as  it  is  sometimes 
called,  which  is  a  self-perpetuating  body  corporate,  hold- 
ing the  title  of  the  property  and  managing  the  temporal 
affairs  of  the  church.  When  a  Pastor  is  to  be  chosen 
these  two  bodies  hold  separate  meetings,  and  must  unite 
on  the  Candidate  before  he  is  regarded  as  elected.  The 
result  of  their  action  is  laid  before  a  Council  of  churches 
<;alled  for  that  purpose,  which  proceeds  to  examine  the 
Candidate,  approve  the  call,  and  install  him.§ 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  404. 

f  Digest  of  the  Canons,  1878,  title  i.,  canon  14,  sect.  i.     See  p.  358. 

X  Discipline,  1880,  p.  105.     See  p.  361. 

2  Congregational  Manual,  pp.  6,  10,  21,  39,  42.     See  pp.  37,  359. 


VOTERS   FOR   PASTOR.  335 

In  the  Lutheran  Church  the  election  is  by  the  people. 

rv.  How  should  the  congregational  meeting  to  elect  a 
Pastor  be  opened? 

"On  the  day  appointed  the  Minister  invited  to  preside,  if 
he  be  present,  shall,  if  it  be  deemed  expedient,  pleach  a  ser- 
mon." If  the  sermon,  for  any  reason,  be  omitted,  the 
Moderator  generally  states  the  nature  and  importance  of 
the  pastoral  office,  and  gives  such  other  instruction  as 
the  congregation  may  need.  Prayer  is  then  offered,  ask- 
ing God's  direction  and  blessing.  The  minute  of  the 
Session  calling  the  meeting  is  read,  and  the  Moderator 
"  shall  announce  to  the  people  that  he  will  immediately  pro- 
ceed to  take  tJie  votes  of  the  electors  of  that  congregation  for 
a  Pastor,  if  such  be  their  desire;  and  when  this  desire  shall 
be  expressed  by  a  majority  of  voices,  he  shall  then  proceed 
to  take  votes  acco^^dingly."  The  desire  is  generally  ex- 
pressed by  resolving  "that  this  congregation  do  now 
proceed  to  elect  a  Pastor." 

Who  may  vote  for  a  Pastor  ? 

"No  person  shall  be  entitled  to  vote  who  refuses  to  submit 
to  the  censures  of  the  church,  regularly  administered,  or  who 
does  not  contribute  his  just  proportion,  according  to  his 
own  engagements  or  the  rules  of  that  congregation,  to  all 
its  necessary  expenses."  In  1711  it  was  agreed  "that 
none  shall  be  allowed  to  vote  for  the  calling  of  a 
Minister  but  those  who  shall  contribute  for  the  main- 
tenance of  him."  This  section,  as  adopted  by  the  Synod 
in  1788,  required  the  electors  to  be  "regular  members  who 
punctually  pay  toward  the  support  of  the  church."  This 
was  omitted  in  the  revision  of  1820.  In  1863  the  O.  S. 
Assembly  sustained  a  complaint  against  a  Synod  for  lim- 
iting the  right  of  voting  for  a  Pastor  to  communicants, 
but  declared  that  "the  Assembly  in  this  judgment  does 


336  ELECTION   OF   PASTOR. 

not  intend  to  condemn  a  practice  prevalent  in  some  of  our 
congregations  in  which  the  right  of  voting  for  Pastor  is 
confined  to  communicants."  lu  1867  the  O.  S.  Assem- 
bly refused  to  enact  a  law  that  none  but  communicants 
in  good  and  regular  standing  shall  vote  for  Pastor.* 
Each  church  is  therefore  left  to  its  own  judgment  or 
custom  in  this  matter,  save  that  communicants  cannot  be 
deprived  of  their  right  to  vote,  and  that  other  voters 
must  be  contributors  to  the  support  of  the  church.f  "A 
church  member  may  not  absent  himself  a  longer  time 
(than  one  year)  from  the  ordinances  without  a  forfeiture 
of  his  good  standing."!  In  1879  the  Assembly  resolved 
"that  it  is  the  judgment  of  the  General  Assembly  that 
all  members  of  the  church  in  full  communion  have  the 
right  to  vote  in  the  election  of  Pastor  in  the  congrega- 
tion with  which  they  are  connected,  subject  to  the  condi- 
tions in  section  iv.,  cli.  xv.,  of  the  "  Form  of  Govern- 
ment." §  Tiie  Southern  Presbyterian  Church  declares 
that  "all  communicating  members  in  good  and  regular 
standing,  but  no  others,  are  entitled  to  vote  in  the  elec- 
tion of  church  officers  in  the  churches  to  which  they  are 
respectively  attached."  || 

In  our  churches  the  custom  varies.  In  some  churches 
only  communicants  vote;  in  others,  the  communicants 
and  the  heads  of  families  holding  pews ;  and  in  others, 
the  communicants  and  all  who  contribute  to  the  support 
of  the  church. 

In  Congregational  churches  each  congregation  may 
adopt  its  own  rules  as  to  electors,  but  the  usage  is  that 
in  the  church  meetings  only  the  male  adult  communi- 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  404,  405.  f  0.  S.  Minutes  1S66,  p.  54. 

X  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  627.  §  Minutes  G.  A.  1879,  p.  630. 

II  Book  of  Church  Order,  ch.  vi.,  sect,  iii.,  sub-sect.  iv. 


CALL  VOTED.  337 

cants  shall  vote.  In  the  society  there  are  no  minors  nor 
females.* 

V.  What  is  the  duty  of  the  Moderator  after  the  votes 
are  taken  ? 

The  Session  as  such,  or  any  member  of  the  meeting, 
may  make  nominations.  The  vote  thereon  is  generally 
taken  by  ballot,  especially  if  there  be  more  than  one 
Candidate.  If  the  votes  are  all  for  the  same  Candidate, 
the  Moderator  shall  declare  him  unanimously  elected. 
If  there  be  a  small  minority,  the  Moderator  should  per- 
suade them  to  unite  with  the  majority  and  make  the 
vote  unanimous.  But  "if  it  appear  that  a  large  minority 
of  the  people  are  averse  from  the  Candidate  who  has  a 
majority  of  votes,  and  cannot  be  induced  to  concur  in  the 
call,  the  presiding  Minister  shall  endeavor  to  dissuade  the 
congregation  from  prosecuting  it  further.  But  if  tJie  peo- 
ple be  nearly  or  entirely  unanimous,  or  if  the  majority  shall 
insist  upon  their  right  to  call  a  Pastor,  the  p-esiding  Min- 
ister in  that  case,  after  using  his  utmost  endeavors  to  per- 
suade the  congregation  to  unanimity,  shall  proceed  to  dr-aw 
a  call  in  due  form,  and  to  have  it  subscribed  by  the  electors, 
certifying  at  the  same  time,  in  writing,  tJie  number  and  cir- 
cumstances of  those  who  do  not  concur  in  the  call."  The 
call  may  be  ordered  at  the  meeting,  and  the  papers  pre- 
pared and  subscribed  afterward.  The  meeting  should  be 
closed,  as  all  ecclesiastical  meetings  are,  with  prayer  and 
the  benediction.  Generally  the  Moderator  offers  such 
congratulations  or  advice  as  he  judges  the  people  need 
under  the  circumstances. 

What  is  done  with  the  record  of  the  meeting? 

It  is  made  by  the  Clerk  of  Session  as  Clerk  of  the 
meeting.     It  should  not  be  entered  upon  the  minute- 

*  See  p.  334. 
29  W 


'S38  ELECTION    OF    PASTOR. 

book  of  Session,  for  it  is  not  an  act  of  the  Session,  and 
Presbyteries  frequently  condemn  the  encumbering  of  the 
sessional  records  with  extraneous  matter.  There  should 
be  j)repared  a  separate  book  in  which  the  Clerk  should 
record  the  minutes  of  all  meetings  of  the  congregation 
called  by  the  Session.*  "All  which  proceedings  shall  be 
laid  before  the  Presbytery,  together  with  the  call." 
VI.  In  what  form  shall  the  call  be  made  ? 
"The  call  shall  be  in  the  folloioing  or  like  form,  viz.: 

"The  congregation  of being,  on  sujiclent  grounds, 

loell  satisfied  of  the  ministerial  qualifications  of  you, 

,  and  having  good  hopes  from  our  past  experience 


of  your  labors  that  your  ministrations  in  the  gospel  will  be 
profitable  to  our  spiritual  interests,  do  earnestly  call  and 
desire  you  to  undertake  the  pastoral  ofiice  in  said  congre- 
gation; promising  you  in  the  discharge  of  your  duty  aU 
proper  support,  encouragement  and  obedience  in  the  Lord. 
And  that  you  may  be  free  from  worldly  cares  and  avoca- 
tions, we  hereby  promise  and  oblige  ourselves  to  pay  to  you 

the  sum  of ,  in  regular  quarterly  (or  half-yearly  or 

yearly)  payments,  during  the  time  of  your  being  and  con- 
tinuing the  regular  Pastor  of  this  church.  In  testimony 
th&'eof  we  have  7'espectively  subscribed  our  names,  this  — 

day  of ,  A.  D. . 

"Attested  by  A.  B.,  Iloderator  of  the  meeting." 
This  form  is  generally  followed.  The  exact  words 
are  unimportant,  provided  the  facts  and  pledges  are 
clearly  expressed.  The  blanks  are  to  be  filled  accord- 
ing to  the  direct  vote  of  the  congregation.  The  call 
becomes  a  legal  obligation.  This  seems  necessary,  that 
"  the  Pastor  may  be  free  from  worldly  cares  and  avoca- 
tions." The  civil  courts  have  often  recognized  the  bind- 
*  See  p.  160. 


SALARY.  339 

ing  nature  of  the  contract.  Sometimes  the  payments  are 
made  monthly,  or  even  weekly. 

Is  a  definite  salary  requisite  ? 

The  form  of  the  call  requires  a  definite  salary  to  be 
pledged.  The  Presbytery  in  approving  the  call  must 
consider  if  it  be  sufficient,  and  may  refuse  to  place  the 
call  in  the  hands  of  the  Pastor  elect,  even  when  he  and 
the  congregation  are  fully  satisfied  as  to  the  amount  of 
salary,  if  the  Presbytery  deem  it  insufficient.*  When 
the  church  depends  upon  the  Board  of  Home  Missions 
for  part  of  the  salary,  the  congregation  can  pledge  only 
what  the  church  is  able  of  itself  to  raise:  a  clause  should 
be  added,  however,  stating  how  much  aid  is  expected 
from  the  Board.  Sometimes  the  agreement  is  made  that 
the  Pastor  shall  receive  a  certain  proportion  of  the  yearly 
or  weekly  income  of  the  church.  But  this  is  contrary 
to  the  spirit  of  this  section.  It  gives  the  Presbytery  no 
opportunity  to  judge  of  the  sufficiency  of  the  Pastor's 
support;  he  is  not  secured  from  anxiety,  but  is  left  de- 
pendent very  much  upon  the  changing  state  of  feeling  in 
the  congregation ;  and  no  legal,  definite  pledge  is  given 
by  the  people  to  provide  for  him.  The  Assembly  have 
frequently  urged  upon  churches  the  duty  of  making 
liberal  provision  for  the  support  of  their  pastors,  as  in 
1811,  and  by  the  N.  S.  Assembly  in  1854.  The  O.  S. 
Assembly  in  the  same  year  published  a  report  on  the 
subject,  which  was  ordered  to  be  read  by  the  Pastors 
from  the  pulpits.f 

Sliould  the  congregation  provide  a  parsonage  ? 

The  use  of  one  is  often  mentioned  in  the  call  as  a  part 
of  the  salary  pledged.     As  early  as  1766  the  Synod  rec- 

*  See  p.  347.     Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  408,  549. 

f  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  406-408 ;  Assembly's  Digest,  pp.  199-203. 


340  ELECTION   OF   PASTOR. 

ommended  that  every  Minister  be  provided  "  with  a 
glebe,  with  a  convenient  house  and  necessary  improve- 
ments." Very  frequently  since  has  the  Assembly  re- 
peated the  recommendation,  as  in  1872,  when  it  was 
resolved  that  churches  be  recommended  to  provide 
suitable  parsonages  or  manses ;  that  Presbyteries  have 
standing  committees  on  manses ;  and  that  Ministers  and 
Elders  press  the  matter  on  the  attention  of  the  people.* 
The  next  year  the  Assembly's  Committee  on  Manses, 
after  three  years'  labor,  was  discharged,  and  the  work 
committed  to  the  Board  of  Church  Erection,  "with 
positive  instructions  that  it  be  efficiently  prosecuted." 
Little  or  nothing  has,  however,  been  done.  In  1876 
that  Board,  having  received  no  money  for  this  object, 
suggested  that  it  be  no  longer  considered  a  part  of  its 
duty.f 

May  the  salary  be  afterward  increased  or  diminished? 

(1)  The  call  is  in  the  nature  of  a  contract.  If  any 
change  is  made  in  the  terms,  it  can  only  be  by  agree- 
ment of  parties.  The  Board  of  Trustees  cannot  make 
any  change,  for  it  is  not  one  of  the  parties.  The  congre- 
gation, called  together  by  the  Session,  is  the  one  party,  and 
the  Pastor  is  the  other.  Any  change  must  be  by  mutual 
consent.  (2)  The  call  differs  from  an  ordinary  contract 
in  that  the  approbation  of  Presbytery  is  necessary  to 
give  it  validity.  When  fully  satisfied,  the  Presbytery 
places  the  call  in  the  hands  of  the  Candidate,  and  be- 
cause approving  of  the  terms  thereof  constitutes  the 
pastoral  relation.  Any  change,  therefore,  must  be 
sanctioned  by  the  Presbytery.  The  laws  of  the  differ- 
ent States  recognize  these  principles.     The  amount  of 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  406-409. 

t  3Iimit€s  G.  A.  1S7S,  p.  539 ;  1876,  p.  171.    See  p.  475. 


SALARY.  341 

salary  in  the  call  is  determined  by  the  present  ability 
of  the  congregation  and  the  circumstances  of  the  Pas- 
tor ;  that  amount  is  pledged  to  ''free  him  from  worldly 
cares  and  avocations."  But  by  the  increased  prosperity 
of  the  church  or  by  larger  necessary  expenses  of  the 
Pastor  the  congregation  is  obligated  to  add  to  the  amount 
pledged,  ''tJiat  he  may  he  free  from  worldly  cares."  This 
is  recognized  in  the  verbal  pledge  in  the  service  of  in- 
stallation,* in  which  the  people  promise  "  to  continue  to 
him,  while  he  is  their  Pastor,  that  competent  worldly 
maintenance  which  they  have  promised,  and  whatever 
else  they  may  see  needful  for  the  honor  of  religion  and 
his  comfort  among  them."  f  When  by  mutual  consent  the 
salary  has  been  increased,  the  contract  has  been  changed, 
even  if  the  consent  of  the  Pastor  has  been  a  silent  one, 
merely  receiving  the  additional  sum  as  a  regular  payment. 
The  congregation  cannot,  without  his  concurrence,  dimin- 
ish the  amount  to  that  originally  promised.  The  laws  of 
the  State  have  recognized  this.  The  plan  of  starving  out 
a  Pastor  by  decreasing  his  salary  is  as  illegal  (civilly  and 
ecclesiastically)  as  it  is  irreligious.  If  the  congregation 
feel  unable  to  continue  the  salary,  and  the  Pastor  be  un- 
willing to  have  any  change  made,  the  matter  should  be 
referred  to  Presbytery.| 

In  1854  the  O.  S.  Assembly  "recommended  to  the 
Elders,  Deacons  and  Trustees  of  our  churches  and  con- 
gregations to  meet  together  on  some  day  before  the  first 
of  November  next,  and  yearly  thereafter,  or  oftener  if 
necessary,  and  institute  inquiry  whether  the  Minister  or 
Stated  Supply  is  properly  and  fully  supported;  and,  if 
they  find  that  he  is  not  so  supported,  to  take  immediate 

*  See  p.  353.  f  Form  of  Government,  ch.  xv.,  sect.  xiiL 

X  See  p.  203. 
29* 


342  ELECTION   OF   PASTOR. 

measures  to  increase  his  support,  and  report  to  their  Pres- 
bytery at  its  next  meeting."  * 

How  is  the  salary  to  be  provided  for  ? 

Each  congregation  should  adopt  a  plan  for  collecting 
the  salary  which  it  deems  most  advisable.  There  are  sev- 
eral plans  now  in  use : 

(1)  By  subscription.  This  is  often  adopted  in  new,  small 
and  feeble  churches.  Once  a  year,  generally  at  or  after  the 
annual  meeting,  each  person  connected  with  the  congre- 
gation is  expected  to  subscribe  according  to  his  ability, 
and  to  pay  at  certain  times  during  the  year.  Often  this 
is  supplemented  by  collections  taken  at  each  service,  and 
even  by  other  means. 

(2)  By  taxation.  In  larger  and  wealthier  congrega- 
tions the  pews  are  owned  by  and  deeded  unto  the  pew- 
holders.  They  are  obtained  in  return  for  subscriptions 
given  for  the  building  of  the  church,  or  by  subsequent 
purchase.  The  owners  may  occupy  them,  or  rent  them 
to  other  parties,  or  sell  or  bequeath  them  as  any  other 
property.  The  expenses  of  the  congregation  are  pro- 
vided for  by  a  tax  laid  upon  the  pews  according  to  their 
assessed  value  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  congregation. 

(3)  By  rental.  The  congregation  under  this  plan  re- 
tains full  possession  and  control  of  the  pews.  Whatever 
is  given  toward  the  building  is  given  freely.  The  pews 
are  rented  by  the  Trustees,  or  persons  appointed  by  the 
congregation  for  that  purpose,  for  suras  varying  accord- 
ing to  the  position  and  size,  and  either  for  a  year  or  for 
an  indefinite  period,  according  to  the  wish  of  the  parties. 
If  there  be  an  annual  rental,  persons  occupying  pews  are 
generally  understood  as  retaining  them  unless  notice  is 
given  to  the  contrary.     Often  the  amount  of  rental  is  de- 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  408. 


SALARY — HOW    COLLECTED.  343 

termined  at  the  annual  meeting,  to  meet  the  estimated 
expenses  of  the  coming  year. 

(4)  By  auction.  This  is  sometimes  called  "  the  annual 
sale  of  pews ;"  it  is  really  only  a  rental  by  auction.  The 
pews  are  held  only  for  one  year.  The  committee  ap- 
pointed for  that  purpose  determines  the  price  (rental)  of 
eacli  pew  according  to  its  size  and  position.  At  a  public 
auction  those  desiring  pews  contend  for  them  by  bidding 
above  the  assessment,  the  highest  bidder  obtaining  the 
pew. 

(5)  By  weekly  offerings.  This  is  often  called  the  "en- 
velope system."  The  pews  are  said  to  be  free,  although 
families  and  persons  are  encouraged  to  occupy  the  same 
seats  Sabbath  after  Sabbath.  Sometimes  the  pews  are 
assigned  to  the  different  families,  not  according  to  their 
supposed  value  or  the  amount  to  be  contributed  to 
the  support  of  the  church.  At  the  beginning  of 
the  church  year  each  person  is  expected  to  subscribe  a 
certain  amount.  He  is  furnished  with  envelopes  dated 
for  each  Sabbath  of  the  year,  and  he  is  expected  to  re- 
turn one  each  Lord's  Day,  with  one  fifty-second  of  the 
amount  thus  pledged  enclosed  therein. 

(6)  By  collection.  The  pews  may  be  free  or  assigned 
to  families  and  individuals  for  the  year.  The  duty  of 
giving  freely  on  each  Lord's  Day  as  the  Lord  hath  pros- 
pered them  is  frequently  impressed  upon  the  people,  and 
collections  are  taken  at  each  service  for  the  expenses  of 
the  church,  every  person  being  expected  to  contribute  ac- 
cording to  his  ability  at  the  time.* 

Should  the  Presbytery  inquire  how  the  congregations  are 
fulfilling  their  contracts  with  the  Pastors  ? 

This  is  part  of  the  duty  of  Presbytery,  often  urged  by 
*  Minutes  G.  A.  1S81,  p.  571.    See  p.  480. 


344  ELECTION   OF   PASTOR. 

the  General  Assembly.  In  1854  the  O.  S.  Assembly  en- 
joined upon  the  churches  to  see  that  their  Ministers  were 
fully  and  properly  supported,  and  required  the  Presby- 
teries to  call  upon  every  Minister  to  answer  whether  he 
had  preached  upon  ministerial  support.  The  N.  S.  As- 
sembly the  same  year  adopted  a  similar  recommendation.* 
Many  Presbyteries,  according  to  a  standing  rule,  demand 
of  the  Elder  whether  his  Pastor's  salary  has  been  fully 
and  regularly  paid  during  the  year. 

Vn.  How  may  the  call  be  signed  ? 

The  members  of  the  congregation  may  sign  it,  but  it 
may  be  subscribed  "6?/  their'  Elder  and  Deacons,  or  by 
their  Ti-ustees,  or  by  a  select  committee."  '^  But  it  shall, 
in  such  case,  be  fully  certified  to  the  Presbytery  by  the  Min- 
ister, or  other  person  who  presided,  that  the  persons  signing 
have  been  appointed  for  this  purpose  by  a  public  vote  of 
the  congregation,  and  that  the  call  has  been  in  all  other  re- 
spects prepared  as  above  directed."  The  meeting  should 
also  appoint  commissioners  to  appear  personally  before 
the  Presbytery  and  prosecute  the  call.f  They  should 
bring  the  record  of  the  meeting  and  the  call,  and  be 
prepared  to  plead  that  it  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  the 
Candidate.  If  the  Presbytery  be  satisfied  with  the  call, 
they  should  approve  it,  and  if  willing  that  the  Candi- 
date should  accept  it,  they  resolve  to  place  it  in  his 
hands. 

Vni.  What  does  the  presentation  and  acceptance  of  a 
call  imply? 

"  Mlien  a  call  shall  be  presented  to  any  Ministci'  or  Can- 
didate, it  shall  always  be  viewed  as  a  sufiUcient  petition  from 
the  people  for  Aw  installment.     ^Jlie  acceptance  of  a  call  by 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  407,  408. 

f  Form  of  Government,  cli.  xv.,  sect.  x.    See  p.  346. 


ORDINATION  AND  INSTALLATION.  345 

a  Minister  or  Candidate  shall  always  he  considered  as  a  re- 
quest on  his  part  to  be  installed  at  the  same  time." 

Whereiii  does  ordination  diflFer  from  installation  ? 

Ordination  makes  a  Probationer  a  Minister — installa- 
tion makes  a  Minister  a  Pastor.  A  man  may  be  ordained 
without  being  installed,  but  he  cannot  be  installed  with- 
out ordination.  The  dissolution  of  the  pastoral  relation 
does  not  affect  his  ministerial  character.* 

May  the  Candidate  be  ordained  and  installed  at  different 
times? 

"  When  a  Candidate  shall  be  ordained  in  consequence  of 
a  call  from  any  congregation,  the  Presbytery  shall  at  the 
same  time,  if  practicable,  install  him  Pastor  of  that  congre- 
gation" Installation  "  may  be  performed  either  by  the 
Presbytery  or  by  a  committee  appointed  for  that  purpose, 
as  may  appear  most  expedient."  f  Ordination  is  the  act 
of  the  Presbytery.  In  the  early  history  of  our  churches 
it  was  difficult  for  the  Presbytery  to  be  assembled  at  an 
isolated  church;  therefore  commissions  were  sometimes 
appointed  to  perform  this  presbyterial  act.  The  right  to 
do  so  continues,  but  it  is  seldom  exercised.^  When  the 
church  calling  a  Pastor  is  at  a  considerable  distance  from 
the  place  of  meeting  of  the  Presbytery,  or  when  the  Pres- 
bytery cannot  meet  at  the  time  deemed  important  for  the 
installation  service,  or  when  the  church  cannot  entertain 
the  Presbytery,  or  when  it  is  desirable  that  the  Candi- 
date be  at  once  empowered  to  administer  the  sacraments 
and  perform  other  ministerial  acts,  the  Presbytery  may 
proceed  to  ordain  him  when  they  place  the  call  in  his 
hands,  and  appoint  a  committee  to  install  him  at  such 
future  time  as  may  be  deemed  convenient.     From  this 

*  See  p.  203.  f  Form  of  Government,  ch.  xvi.,  sect.  iv. 

X  See  pp.  199,  218. 


346  ELECTION   OF   PASTOR. 

whole  chapter  it  is  necessary  that  installation  be  in  the 
presence  of  the  congregation. 

IX.  To  what  Presbytery  shall  the  call  be  presented  ? 

'^Tlie  call,  thus  prepared,  shall  be  presented  to  the  Pres- 
bytery under  whose  care  the  person  called  shall  beP  The 
Candidate  is  generally  informed  of  the  action  of  the  con- 
gregation, and  is  thus  prepared  to  reply  when  the  Pres- 
bytery approves  the  call.  "7/"  the  Presbyte^^y  think  it  ex- 
pedient to  present  (lie  call  to  him,  it  may  be  accordingly 
presented.^'  This  is  done  by  the  Moderator  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Presbytery,  who,  having  placed  it  in  his 
hands,  asks  if  he  be  ready  to  accept  it.  On  his  assent 
the  Presbytery  generally  appoint  a  committee  to  arrange 
for  his  ordination  and  installation.  "  No  Minister  or  Can- 
didate shall  receive  a  call  but  through  the  hands  of  the 
Presbytery y  "To  facilitate  the  business  and  avoid 
expense  and  delay,  it  has  become  the  common  usage  for 
the  Candidate  to  obtain  a  dismission  to  the  Presbytery 
within  whose  bounds  is  the  congregation  seeking  his  ser- 
vices ;  being  received  by  that  Presbytery,  the  proceedings 
are  as  in  the  case  of  their  own  Candidates"  or  Ministers.* 

X.  How  shall  the  call  be  presented  if  the  Candidate  be- 
longs to  another  Presbytery  ? 

'^In  that  case  the  commissioners,  deputed  from  the  congre- 
gation to  prosecute  the  call,  shall  produce  to  that  judicatory 
a  certificate  from  their  own  Presbytery,  7'egularly  attested 
by  the  Moderator  and  Clerk,  that  the  call  has  been  laid, 
before  them,  and  is  in  order"  This  process  is  generally 
rendered  unnecessary,*  as  the  Licentiate  laboring  for 
Bome  time  in  a  congregation,  or  knowing  that  a  call  has 
been  prepared,  would  obtain  a  dismissal  to  that  Presby- 
tery and  be  received  before  the  call  is  presented.     Often, 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  409,  note. 


PRESENTATION   OF   CALL.  347 

however,  the  times  of  the  meeting  of  the  Presbyteries 
render  this  impracticable,  or  the  Licentiate  may  be  en- 
gaged in  some  work  in  the  bounds  of  his  own  Presby- 
tery which  he  cannot  leave  without  their  judgment  and 
their  approval  of  the  call.  In  such  cases  the  commis- 
sioners must  take  the  call,  duly  attested,  to  both  Presby- 
teries, either  of  which  may  disapprove  the  call  and  stop 
proceedings.  The  same  rule  applies  to  unemployed  Min- 
isters, and  even  to  Pastors.*  But  ''if  that  Presbytery 
present  the  call  to  their  Licentiate,  and  he  be  disposed  to 
accept  it,  they  shall  then  dismiss  him  from  their  jurisdiction, 
and  require  him  to  repair  to  that  Presbytery  into  the  bounds 
of  which  he  is  called,  and  there  to  submit  himself  to  the  usual 
trials  preparatory  to  ordination."  The  Assembly  in  1834 
declared  that  "  our  *  Form  of  Government '  seems  to  rec- 
ognize the  right  and  privilege  of  each  Presbytery  to 
examine  and  ordain  those  who  come  to  the  pastoral  office 
within  their  bounds,  and  who  have  never  before  exercised 
that  office ;"  and  therefore  "  those  who  propose  to  pursue 
the  work  of  their  ministry  in  any  section  of  the  country 
where  a  Presbytery  is  already  organized  "  should  go  as 
Licentiates,  and  there  receive  ordination.  This  is  still 
more  important  when  the  Candidate  belongs  to  another 
denomination.f 

May  a  Presbjiiery  refuse  to  put  the  call  into  the  hands  of 
the  Candidate? 

This  is  implied  in  sect.  ix.  The  power  is  often  exer- 
cised by  Presbytery  .J  In  1875  the  Assembly  answered 
an  appeal  and  complaint  of  a  Minister  on  the  action  of  a 
Presbytery  refusing  to  put  a  call  into  his  hands :  "  The 
General  Assembly  has  repeatedly  decided  that  Presbyte- 

*  See  p.  365.  f  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  146. 

X  Ibid.,  p.  548. 


548  .   ELECTION   OF   PASTOR. 

ries  have  discretionary  power  in  such  cases,  which  decis- 
ions are  clearly  in  accordance  with  the  'Form  of  Govern- 
ment' (see  ch.  xv.,  sect,  ix.);  therefore  the  appeal  and 
complaint  be  dismissed."*  In  1855  the  O.  S.  Assembly 
justified  a  Presbytery  in  refusing  to  approve  a  call  because 
the  salary  was  insufficient,  though  the  church  and  Minis- 
ter were  fully  satisfied. f  As  early  as  1726  it  was  decided 
that  a  congregation  is  "at  liberty  to  call  another  Minister 
in  an  orderly  way  as  soon  as  they  shall  pay  up  what  ar- 
rears appear  justly  due  to"  their  former  Pastor.| 

XI.  What  are  the  trials  for  ordination  ? 

^^  Trials  for  ordination,  especially  in  a  different  Presby- 
tery from  that  in  which  the  Candidate  was  licensed,  shall 
consist  of  a  careful  examination  as  to  his  acquaintance 
with  experimental  religion;  as  to  his  knowledge  of  philos- 
ophy, theology,  ecclesiastical  history,  the  Greek  and  Hebrew 
langiiages,  and  such  other  branches  of  learning  as  to  the 
Presbytery  may  appear  requisite;  and  as  to  his  knowledge 
of  the  constitution,  the  rides  and  principles  of  the  govern- 
ment and  discipline  of  the  Church" 

WhereiQ  should  this  examination  differ  from  that  for 
license  ? 

It  should  be  a  repetition  of  that  examination,  by  which 
his  qualifications  for  preaching  the  gospel  were  tested. § 
As  he  is  now  to  be  invested  with  authority  as  Pastor 
in  the  Church,  special  care  therefore  should  be  taken  to 
ascertain  his  knowledge  of  the  principles  and  the  appli- 
cation of  church  government  and  discipline. 

What  is  the  constitution  ? 

The  Confession  of  Faith,  the  Larger  and  Shorter  Cat- 
echisms, the  Form  of  Government,  Book  of  Disciplino 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  1S75,  p.  510.  f  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  408. 

X  Assembly's  Digest,  p.  88.  §  See  p.  319. 


TRIALS   FOR   ORDINATION.  349 

and  Directory  for  Worship.  The  proof- texts  were  added 
by  order  of  the  Assembly.  There  were  also  notes,  which 
were  considered  valuable,  but  had  no  authority,  never 
having  been  referred  to  the  Presbyteries ;  these  were  dis- 
carded in  the  revision  in  1820.  The  Assembly  has  fre- 
quently reiterated  the  above  definition  of  the  constiution. 
In  1832  it  again  declared  that  "  the  Larger  and  Shorter 
Catechisms  of  the  Westminster  Assembly  of  Divines 
are  included,  and  do  constitute  an  integral  part  of  the 
standards  of  the  Church."  In  1848  the  O.  S.  Assembly 
decided  that  in  ordination  the  question  put  to  the  Candi- 
date, "  Do  you  sincerely  receive  and  adopt  the  Confession 
of  Faith  of  this  Church?"  includes  the  receiving  and 
adopting  the  Larger  and  Shorter  Catechisms,  "  in  the  same 
unqualified  sense  "  in  which  he  adopts  the  other  parts  of 
the  Confession  of  Faith.  Those  who  cannot  adopt  the 
constitution  of  the  Church  cannot  be  ordained  or  received 
as  Ministers.  In  1825  the  Assembly,  in  answer  to  an 
overture  respecting  those  who  manifest  a  decided  hostil- 
ity to  creeds,  confessions  and  formularies,  determined  "  that 
the  constitution  expressly  requires  of  all  Candidates  a 
solemn  declaration  that  they  sincerely  receive  and  adopt 
the  Confession  of  Faith  of  this  Church,  as  containing  the 
system  of  doctrine  taught  in  Holy  Scripture."  *  At  the 
reunion  it  was  agreed  that "  the  reunion  shall  be  eifected 
on  the  doctrinal  and  ecclesiastical  basis  of  our  common 
standards ;  the  Scripture  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments 
shall  be  acknowledged  to  be  the  inspired  word  of  God, 
the  infallible  rule  of  faith  and  practice;  the  Confession 
of  Faith  shall  continue  to  be  sincerely  received  and 
adopted,  as  containing  the  system  of  doctrine  taught  in 
Holy  Scripture,  and  the  Government  and  Discipline  of  the 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  51-57,  326, 
30 


350  ELECTION   OF   PASTOR. 

Presbyterian  .Church  in  the  United  States  shall  be  approved 
as  containing  the  principles  and  rules  of  our  polity."  * 

The  Southern  Church  states :  "  The  constitution  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States  consists 
of  its  doctrinal  symbols,  embraced  in  the  Confession  of 
Faith  and  the  Larger  and  Shorter  Catechisms,  together 
with  the  Book  of  Church  Order,  which  comprises  the 
Form  of  Government,  the  Rules  of  Discipline  and  the 
Directory  of  Worship."  f 

What  written  pieces  are  required  ? 

"  Such  written  discourse  or  discourses,  founded  on  the 
word  of  God,  as  to  the  Presbytery  shall  seem  proper." 
Generally  a  sermon  on  an  assigned  text  is  read  or  de- 
livered in  whole  or  in  part  before  the  Presbytery,  and 
sometimes  before  a  congregation. 

How  is  the  vote  taken  on  these  parts  of  trial  ? 

The  Candidate  retires,  and  the  roll  is  called,  that  each 
member  may  express  his  opinion  and  vote  to  sustain  or 
not  sustain.  If  the  Presbytery  be  satisfied,  it  is  resolved 
that  he  be  ordained  to  the  gospel  ministry.  The  Candi- 
date is  recalled,  and  the  result  announced  to  him.  A 
committee  is  appointed  (including  one  of  the  Elders  from 
the  church)  to  report  arrangements  for  the  ordination  and 
installation.  This  committee  generally  reports,  recom- 
mending the  time  and  the  place  and  the  Ministers  who 
shall  take  part  in  the  service.  When  the  Presbytery 
adjourns,  they  do  so  to  meet  at  the  time  and  place  thus 
determined  for  the  ordination. 

Is  it  proper  to  appoint  the  Sabbath  as  the  time  for 
ordination  ? 

The  Assembly  in  1821  declared  that  "  it  is  not  expe- 

■*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  91.     See  p.  264. 
f  Book  of  Church  Order,  ch.  vii.,  sect.  i. 


ORDINATION.  351 

dient  that  ordinations  should  take  place  on  the  Sabbath, 
yet  there  may  be  cases  in  which  urgent  and  peculiar  cir- 
cumstances may  demand  them.  The  Assembly  therefore 
judge  it  best  to  leave  it  to  the  Presbyteries  to  act  in  this 
concern  as  they  judge  that  their  duty  requires."  * 

Where  ought  the  ordination  to  take  place  ? 

"if  convenient,  in  that  church  of  which  he  is  to  be  the 
Minister."  f  "It  is  also  recommended  that  a  fast-day  be 
observed  in  the  congregation  previous  to  the  day  of  ordina- 
tion" as  when  Paul  and  Barnabas  were  separated  for  the 
foreign  missionary  work  of  the  Church.  (See  Acts  13  : 
2,3.) 

Xn.  What  are  the  services  preparatory  to  ordination  ? 

"  The  day  appointed  for  ordination  being  come,  and  the 
Presbytery  convened,"  after  the  usual  services  "  a  member 
of  the  Presbytery,  pi-eviously  appointed  to  that  duty,  shall 
preach  a  sermon  adapted  to  the  occasion.  The  same  or 
anotlier  member  appointed,  to  preside,shall  afterwards  briefly 
recite  from  the  pulpit,  in  the  audience  of  the  people,  the  pro- 
ceedings of  this  Presbytery  preparatory  to  this  tr-ansaction  ; 
he  shall  point  out  the  nature  and  importance  of  the  ordi- 
nance,  and  endeavor  to  impress  the  audience  vnth  a  proper 
sense  of  the  solemnity  of  the  transaction."  The  Moderator 
of  Presbytery  generally  presides.  The  sermon  is  often 
delivered  by  some  Minister  invited  by  Presbytery,  not 
necessarily  a  member  of  that  body. 

What  vows  are  required  of  the  Candidate  ? 

"Then,  addressing  himself  to  the  Candidate,  he  shall  pro- 
pose to  him  the  following  questions,  viz.:" 

1.  "Do  you  believe  the  Sciiptures  of  the  Old  and  New 
TeMaments  to  be  the  word  of  God,  the  only  infallible  rule 
of  faith  and  practice  f" 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  410.  f  See  p.  200. 


352  ELECTION   OF   PASTOR. 

2.  "Do  yx)u  sincerdy  receive  and  adopt  the  Confession 
of  Faith  of  this  Chwch,  as  containing  the  system  of  faith 
taught  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  f 

3.  "Do  you  approve  of  the  government  and  discipline  of 
the  Pi'esbyterian  Church  in  these  United  States  f " 

4.  "Do  you  promise  subjection  to  your  brethren  in  the 
Lordr 

5.  "Have  you  been  induced,  so  far  as  you  know  your  own 
heart,  to  seek  the  ojffice  of  the  holy  ministry  from  love  to  God 
and  a  sincere  desire  to  promote  his  glory  in  the  gospel  of 
his  Son  r 

6.  "Do  you  promise  to  be  zealous  and  faithful  in  m^inr 
taining  the  truths  of  the  gospel,  and  the  purity  and  peace 
of  the  Church,  wludever  persecution  or  opposition  may  arise 
unto  you  on  that  account  f 

7.  "Do  you  engage  to  be  faithful  and  diligent  in  the  ex- 
ercise of  all  private  arid  personal  duties  which  become  you 
as  a  Christian  and  a  Minister  of  the  gospel,  as  well  as  in 
all  relative  duties,  and.  in  the  public  duties  of  your  offi.ce; 
endeavoring  to  adorn  the  profession  of  the  gospel  by  your 
conversation,  and  walking  with  exemplary  piety  before  the 
flock  over  which  God  shall  make  you  overseer  f 

8.  "Are  you  now  willing  to  take  charge  of  the  congrega- 
tion, agreeably  to  your  declaration  at  accepting  their  calif 
and  do  you  promise  to  dischai'ge  the  duties  of  a  Pastor  to 
them  as  God  shall  give  you  strength  f'^ 

While  the  questions  are  being  asked  the  Candidate 
should  stand  near  the  pulpit  and  in  presence  of  the  con- 
gregation. He  should  answer  clearly,  that  all  may  hear 
his  vows.  He  should  remain  standing  while  the  presid- 
ing Minister  proposes  the  questions  to  the  people. 

Xm.  What  promises  do  the  people  make  ? 

"Tlie  presiding  Minister  shall  propose  to  the  people  the 


ORDINATION,  853 

following  questions" — they  should  properly  stand   while 
thus  addressed : 

1.  "Do  you,  the  people  of  this  congregation,  continue  to 

profess  your  readiness  to  receive ,  whom 

you  have  called  to  be  your  3Iinisterf" 

2.  "Do  you  promise  to  receive  the  word  of  truth  from  his 
mouth  with  meekness  and  love,  and  to  submit  to  him  in  the 
due  exercise  of  discipline  f 

3.  "Do  you  promise  to  encourage  him  in  his  arduous 
labor,  and  to  assist  his  endeavors  for  your  instruction  and 
spiritual  edification  f " 

4.  "And  do  you  engage  to  continue  to  him,  while  he  is 
your  Pastor,  that  competent  worldly  maintenance  which  you 
have  promised,  and  whatever  else  you  may  see  needful  for 
the  honor  of  religion  and  his  comfort  among  you  f" 

XrV".  How  shall  the  people  answer  ? 

"By  holding  up  their  right  hands."  The  assent  may 
be  expressed  vivd  voce  if  desired,  but  a  formal  and  sol- 
emn ratification  of  these  pledges,  which  were  expressed 
or  implied  in  the  call,  is  necessary.  The  people  may 
then  resume  their  seats. 

How  is  the  act  of  ordination  performed  ? 

"The  Candidate  shall  kneel  down  in  the  most  convenient 
part  of  the  church,"  and  the  presiding  Minister  shall 
come  down  from  the  pulpit  and  stand  in  front  of  the 
Candidate,  while  the  other  Ministers  of  the  Presbytery 
gather  round  the  Candidate.  "  The  presiding  Minister 
shall,  by  prayer  and  with  the  laying  07i  of  the  hands  of 
the  Presbytery,  according  to  the  apostolic  example,  solemnly 
ordain  him  to  the  holy  office  of  the  gospel  ministry." 

Who  may  lay  on  hands  ? 

The  Ministers  of  the  Presbytery,  corresponding  mem- 
bers as  well,  and  often  Ministers  of  other  denominations 
:^o  *  X 


354  ELECTION   OF    PASTOR. 

who  may  Ire  present;  but  these,  if  convenient,  should  be 
first  invited  to  sit  as  corresponding  members  (tliis  may 
be  done  before  the  public  service).  Ruling  Elders,  though 
members  of  the  Presbytery,  and  having  responsibility  of 
judging  of  the  qualifications  of  Candidates,  should  not 
take  part  in  the  act  of  ordination.  In  1842  the  O.  S. 
Assembly  recommended  "  an  adherence  to  the  order  and, 
until  recently,  the  uniform  practice  of  our  Church — 
viz.,  to  allow  Preaching  Elders  or  Bishops  only  to  en- 
gage in  that  service."  The  next  year  and  in  1844  it  as- 
serted that  neither  "the  constitution  nor  the  practice  of  our 
Church,"  nor  "  the  letter  or  the  spirit  of  the  constitution, 
or  the  principles  and  practice  of  the  Presbyterian  churches 
in  Europe  or  America  since  the  Reformation,"  "authorize 
Ruling  Elders  to  impose  hands  in  the  ordination  of  Minis- 
ters."   In  1860  the  N.  S.  Assembly  was  equally  explicit.* 

How  is  tlie  right  liand  of  fellowship  given  ? 

"Prayer  being  ended,  he''  (the  newly-ordained  Minis- 
ter) "shall  rise  from  his  knees,  and  the  Minister  who  pre- 
sides shall  first,  and  aftericard  all  the  members  of  the 
Presbytery  in  their  ordea^,  take  him  by  the  right  hand,  say- 
ing, in  words  to  this  purpose,  '  We  give  you  the  7'ight  hand 
of  fellowship  to  take  part  of  this  ministry  loith  us.'"  In 
this  part  of  the  service  the  Ruling  Elders  do  not  take 
part,  notwithstanding  the  expression,  "all  the  members 
of  the  Presbytery."  "Tins  language  manifestly  implies 
that  those  welcoming  him  do  themselves  occupy  places 
in  that  ministry  to  which  they  welcome  him."! 

Should  the  ordination  and  installation  be  formally  an- 
nounced? 

The  presiding  Minister  "shall  solemnly  pronounce  and 
declare  the  said  Mi  nister  to  be  regularly  constituted  the  Pas- 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  pi).  Ill),  117.  f  Ibid.,  p.  117. 


ORDINATION.  355 

tor  of  that  congregation."  *  The  Stated  Clerk  should  also 
publish  in  one  or  more  of  the  religious  papers  that  A.  B. 

has  been  ordained  and  installed  Pastor  of church.f 

The  Southern  Church  prescribes  that  after  the  right  hand 
of  fellowship  be  given,  "the  Moderator  shall  then  say: 
'I  now  pronounce  and  declare  that  A.  B.  has  been  regu- 
larly elected,  ordained  and  installed  Pastor  of  this  con- 
gregation, agreeably  to  the  word  of  God  and  according 
to  the  constitution  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the 
United  States,  and  that  as  such  he  is  entitled  to  all 
support,  encouragement,  honor  and  obedience  in  the 
Lord.  In  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son, 
and  of  the  Holy  Ghost.     Amen."'| 

Wiat  charges  shall  be  given  ? 

1.  To  the  Minister,  who  shall  stand  conveniently  near 
the  pulpit  while  'Hhe  3Hnister  presiding,  or  some  other 
appointed  for  the  purpose,  shall  give  a  solemn  charge  in 
the  name  of  God,  to  the  newly-ordained  Bishop"  (See  2 
Tim.  4:1,2.)  2.  "And  to  the  people."  This  is  gen- 
erally given  by  another  Minister  appointed  for  that  pur- 
pose (Heb.  13  :  7,  16,  17;  1  Thess.  5  :  12,  13).  These 
charges  are  to  urge  them  "to  persevere  in  the  discharge 
of  their  mutual  duties." 

How  is  tlie  service  to  be  closed  ? 

The  presiding  Minister  or  some  other  "shall  then  by 
prayer  recommend  them  both  to  the  grace  of  God  and  his 
holy  keeping,  and  finally,  after  singing  a  psalm,  shall  dis- 
miss the  congregation  with  the  usual  blessing."  The  bene- 
diction is  generally  pronounced  by  the  newly-ordained  Pas- 
tor as  his  first  ministerial  act.  The  service  just  described 
includes  that  of  installation  as  well  as  of  ordination,  and 

*  Form  nf  Government,  cli.  xvi.,  sect.  vi.  f  See  p.  369. 

X  Book  of  Church  Order,  cli.  vi.,  sect.  v..  snh-seot.  vi. 


356  p:lecti()n  of  pastor. 

therefore  the  kist  section  of  the  next  chapter  should  he 
observed  :  '■'It  is  highly  becoming  that  after  the  solemnity 
of  installment  the  hcad6  of  families  of  that  congregation 
who  are  then  present,  or  at  least  the  Elders  and  those  ap- 
pointed to  take  care  of  the  temporal  concerns  of  that  church, 
should  come  forward  to  their  Pastor,  and  give  him  their 
right  hand,  in  token  of  cordial  reception  and  affectionate 
regard."  This  is  very  generally  observed,  and  does  much 
to  strengthen  the  union  just  established.*  "And  the  Pres- 
bytery shall  duly  record  the  transaction  "  and  "  enroll  the 
name  of  the  new  Minister." 

What  is  the  standing  of  the  newly-ordained  Minister? 

By  the  act  of  ordination  he  ceases  to  l)e  a  communicant 
in  a  particular  church,  amenable  to  Session,  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Presbytery,  and  responsible  to  it.  He 
has  "full  authority  of  a  Minister  of  the  gospel  to  preach, 
to  administer  the  sacraments,  to  perform  the  rite  of  mar- 
riage, and  to  do  all  other  acts  and  things  which  properly 
belong  to  the  sacred  office."  He  has  the  same  standing 
and  authority  as  all  other  Ministers.f 

XV.  May  a  Candidate  be  ordained  without  a  call,  and 
without  installation  over  a  church? 

''It  is  sometimes  desirable  and  important  that  a  Candidate 
who  has  not  received  a  call  to  be  a  Pastor  of  a  particular 
church  should  nevertfieless  be  oi'dained  to  the  woi'k  of  the 
gospel  ministry,  as  an  Evangelist  to  preach  the  gospel,  ad- 
minister  the  scaling  ordinances  and  organize  churches  in 
fro]dier  or  destitute  settlements.^'  They  are  called  Evan- 
gelists, or  Ministers  sinetitulo.  This  should  not  be  done 
if  a  Presbytery  is  already  organized  in  the  destitute  places 

*  See  p.  370. 

f  Manual  of  Law  and  Usage,  p.  129;  Form  of  Government,  ch.  iv. 
Sec  pp.  45,  88,  90,  95,  175,  204. 


ORDINATION    SINE   TITUT.O.  357 

and  new-growing  parts  of  our  Church,  except  by  that 
Presbytery.  In  1850  the  O.  S.  Assembly  declared  that 
it  was  orderly  to  ordain  Evangelists  "to  labor  in  fields 
having  feeble  churches,  which  are  not  able  to  support  a 
Pastor  and  are  too  remote  conveniently  to  secure  the  ser- 
vices of  an  ordained  Minister."  Foreign  and  Home  Mis- 
sionaries, Licentiates  engaged  in  teaching  or  as  Editors, 
etc.,  may  be  thus  ordained  when  the  Presbytery  deem  it 
necessary.  Foreign  Missionaries  are  often  ordained  sine 
titulo  at  home,  even  though  they  are  to  labor  where  Pres- 
byteries have  been  organized.  Great  caution  is  urged  u2)on 
the  Presbyteries  in  this  matter,  and  between  1764  and  1810 
it  seems  to  have  been  more  or  less  the  custom  to  seek  the 
advice  of  Synod  or  General  Assembly  before  consenting 
to  ordain  as  Evangelists.  Yet  the  proposition  to  make 
this  consent  necessary  was  rejected  by  the  Presbyteries  in 
1810  and  in  1813.* 

What  change  in  the  questions  at  ordination  must  then 
be  made? 

"TAe  last  of  the  preceding  questions  shall  he  omitted, 
and  the  following  used  as  a  substitute,  viz. :  Are  you  noio 
willing  to  undertake  the  work  of  an  Evangelist,  and  do  you 
promise  to  discharge  the  duties  which  may  be  incumbent  on 
you  in  this  character,  as  God  shall  give  you  strength  f 

What  is  his  standing  ? 

The  same  as  that  of  other  Ministers.  The  office  is  the 
same,  but  he  has  no  special  relation  to  any  particular 
church.f 

How  are  Candidates  received  into  the  ministry  of  the 
Episcopal  Church? 

Candidates  well  recommended  must  apply  to  the  Bishop 

*  Presbyterian  Dir/est,  pp.  412-415.     See  p.  33. 
t  See  p.  50. 


358  ELECTION    OF    PASTOR. 

of  the  diocese,  who  shall  superintend  their  studies  and 
employ  them  as  lay  readers.  They  cannot  assume  the 
vestments  of  a  clergyman  nor  pronounce  absolution  or 
the  benediction.  They  must  be  Candidates  for  three 
years,  after  which  they  are  examined,  by  the  Bishop  or 
by  two  or  more  Presbyters  (Priests)  appointed  by  the 
Bishop,  who  are  called  Examining  Chaplains,  for  ordina- 
tion as  Deacons,  the  lowest  of  the  three  orders  in  their 
ministry.  The  ordination  is  performed  by  the  Bishop 
with  the  laying  on  of  his  hands.  They  are  subject  to 
the  Bishop,  who  may  license  them  to  preach  when  he 
judges  them  qualified,  and  may  send  them  to  officiate  as 
Deacons  under  a  Priest,  the  Rector  or  Pastor  of  a  church. 
They  have  special  charge  of  the  poor  and  of  the  children, 
assisting  the  Rector  in  his  public  services  and  pastoral 
labors.  They  may  baptize  and  assist  in  the  distributing 
the  bread  and  wine  at  the  Lord's  Supper,  but  cannot  con- 
secrate these  elements,  nor  can  they  pronounce  the  abso- 
lution or  the  benediction.  They  must  remain  Deacons  for 
one  year,  and  are  regarded  as  Candidates  for  the  Priest's 
orders  (or  for  the  second  order  of  the  ministry).  As  such 
they  must  be  examined,  by  the  Examining  Chaplains  or 
by  the  Bishop  and  two  Priests,  on  various  subjects ;  they 
must  read  sermons  and  parts  of  the  service,  and  present 
certain  certificates  testifying  to  their  fitness  for  the  min- 
istry, and  that  they  have  been  called  to  labor  in  some 
church  or  parish.  The  election  of  a  Rector  (Pastor)  is  by 
the  Vestry  of  the  church,  and  should  receive  the  approval 
of  the  Bishop.  The  Vestry  is  composed  of  the  Church- 
wardens and  other  persons,  chosen  to  take  charge  of  the 
tempoi-al  aifuirs  of  the  parish,  and  are  not  necessarily 
communicants.  The  ordination  of  a  Priest  is  with  the 
laying  on  of  hands  by  the  Bishop  and  the  Priests  present. 


OUDIXATION    1\    OTHER   CHURCHES.  359 

this  may  take  plat-e  at  any  time  or  place  before  his  "in- 
stitution "  (or  installation)  over  a  parish  as  its  Rector. 
The  service  of  institution  may  be  performed  by  a  Priest 
appointed  by  the  Bishop  as  "  the  institutor."  Priests 
have  all  the  functions  of  Ministers,  except  that  of  ordi- 
nation, confirmation  and  supreme  authority,  M^hich  are 
invested  in  Bishops  (the  third  and  highest  order  of  the 
ministry).  Bishops  are  chosen  by  the  Convention  of  a 
diocese.  A  diocese  is  a  certain  territory,  containing  at 
least  six  parishes,  set  apart  by  the  General  Convention 
to  be  under  the  jurisdiction  of  a  Bishop.  The  Conven- 
tion of  a  diocese  is  composed  of  the  Rectors  and  lay  dep- 
uties (representing  the  several  churches).  These  sit  to- 
gether, but  vote  separately  as  clergy  and  laity.  The 
election  of  a  Bishop  must  receive  the  approval  of  the 
House  of  Bishops,  and  of  the  House  of  Clerical  and 
Lay  Deputies,  in  General  Convention,  or,  if  these  be  not 
in  session,  the  approbation  of  a  majority  of  the  Bishops 
and  of  the  Standing  Committees  of  several  dioceses.  The 
ordination  of  a  Bishop  is  by  three  or  more  Bishops,  with 
ttie  laying  on  of  their  hands.  Their  peculiar  functions 
are  confirmation,  ordination  and  supervision,  each  having 
supreme  authority  within  his  own  diocese,  and  together, 
as  the  House  of  Bishops,  having  the  general  oversight 
and  highest  jwwer  of  the  Chui-cli.* 

How  are  Candidates  received  into  the  ministry  of  the 
Congregational  Church? 

Candidates  apply  to  some  Association  for  license  to 
preach.  An  Association  is  composed  of  Ministers  for 
prayer  and  mutual  counsel  and  improvement.  It  exer- 
cises no  ecclesiastical  function,  except  that  of  licensing 

*  Digest  of  Canons,  1878,  title  i.,  canons  1-15;  Book  of  Common 
Prayer. 


360  ELECTION   OF   PASTOR. 

Candidates/  This  is  done  after  a  careful  examination 
according  to  the  custom  of  that  Association.  Applica- 
tion for  ordination  must  be  made  to  a  Council  composed 
of  Ministers  and  delegates  of  churches,  called  by  a  con- 
gregation choosing  a  Pastor  or  approving  of  a  Licentiate's 
desire  to  be  ordained  sine  titulo.  When  a  Candidate  has 
preached  to  the  satisfaction  of  a  congregation,  the  commu- 
nicants, as  the  church,  hold  a  meeting  and  vote  to  call  him 
as  their  Pastor.  The  society,  which  is  a  self-perpetuat- 
ing body,  composed  of  persons  holding  the  property  and 
having  charge  of  the  financial  affairs  of  the  church,  also 
must  hold  a  meeting  to  concur,  if  they  see  fit,  in  the  call 
voted  by  the  church  and  to  determine  the  salary  of  the 
new  Pastor.  The  action  of  these  two  bodies  must  be 
laid  before  the  Council ;  the  Candidate  is  examined  by 
the  Council.  The  ordination  is  by  a  committee  of  three 
or  more  Ministers,  with  the  laying  on  of  their  hands,  in 
the  presence  of  the  congregation.  Charges  are  given  to 
Pastor  and  people,  and  a  Minister  is  appointed  to  repre- 
sent the  ministry  and  to  give  to  the  new  Minister  the 
right  hand  of  fellowship  in  their  name.* 

How  are  the  Candidates  received  into  the  ministry  of  the 
Baptist  Church  ? 

The  Biiptist  churches  are  congregational  in  their  polity. 
They  have  adopted  the  following  plan  in  regard  to  those 
seeking  the  ministry:  When  a  young  man  desires  to  be 
a  Candidate,  he  applies  to  the  local  church,  which  after 
trial  of  his  gifts  generally  licenses  him  when  he  begins 
his  theological  studies.  The  license  may  be  recalled  or 
continued  until  the  young  man  receives  a  call  to  be  Pastor 
of  a  church  ;  a  Council  is  then  summoned  to  examine 
and  ordain  him,  as  in  Congregational  churches. 
*  Congregationalism,  pp.  136,  152,  168-172. 


ORDINATION    IN    OTHER   CHURCHES.  361 

How  are  Candidates  received  into  tlie  ministry  of  tlie 
Methodist  Cliiircli? 

In  the  Methodist  Church  the  communicants  are  ar- 
ranged in  classes  under  Class-leaders,  Any  one  on  the 
recommendation  of  the  class,  or  of  the  Leaders  and 
Stewards'  Meeting  of  the  circuit,  may  be  licensed  by 
the  Preacher  in  charge  as  an  Exhorter.  His  duties  are 
to  hold  meetings  for  prayer  and  exhortation  under  the 
direction  of  the  Preacher  in  charge,  and  to  attend  the 
District  and  Quarterly  Conferences.  The  license  is  for 
one  year,  and  may  be  renewed.*  Persons  are  often  thus 
licensed  as  Exhorters  who  do  not  look  forward  to  the 
ministry.  A  Local  Preacher  is  one  who  is  licensed  from 
year  to  year,  according  to  the  judgment  of  the  Quarterly 
Conference,  upon  passing  a  prescribed  examination.  He 
usually  continues  in  secular  business,  but  may  l^e  em- 
ployed by  the  Presiding  Elder  in  the  pastorate.  If  he 
desire  ordination,  he  nuist  submit  to  a  four-year  course 
of  study  before  he  can  be  ordained  as  a  Deacon. f  A 
Deacon  is  examined  by  the  Annual  Conference,  and  or- 
dained by  the  laying-on  of  the  hands  of  a  Bishop.  His 
duties  as  a  traveling  Deacon  are  (1)  "to  administer  bap- 
tism and  solemnize  matrimony;  (2)  to  assist  the  Elder 
in  administering  the  Lord's  Supper;  (3)  to  do  all  the 
duties  of  a  traveling  Preacher."  He  may  be  a  Local 
Deacon,  performing  these  duties  occasionally.  He  must 
continue  his  work  and  fulfill  a  prescribed  course  of  study 
for  two  years  before  he  can  be  made  an  E]der.|  An 
Elder  is  examined  by  the  Annual  Conference,  and  or- 
dained by  the  Bishop  and  two  or  more  Elders.  His 
duties  are  those  of  a  Minister  in  full  orders.     If  a  Local 

*  Discipline,  1880,  1[T|  192,  293.  f  Ibid.,  ^  91,  §  4,  and  1[  189. 

X  /6/V/.,  n  172,  174,  175,  189. 
81 


362  OF    TRANSLATION    OF    A    PASTOR. 

Elder,  he  is-  stationary,  without  a  particular  charge;  he 
exercises  his  office  as  occasion  may  require.  If  admitted 
to  the  Conference  as  a  traveling  Elder,  he  receives  an- 
nually an  appointment  as  Pastor  of  a  church  or  churches, 
and  may  be  reappointed  to  the  same  charge  for  three 
successive  years.*  A  Presiding  Elder  is  one  chosen  by 
the  Bishop  to  preside  over  a  district  for  not  more  than 
four  years.  He  must  travel  over  his  district,  take  charge 
of  the  Elders,  Deacons  and  Exhorters,  exercise  discipline, 
hold  Quai'terly  Conference,  ov^ersee  the  spiritual  and  tem- 
poral business  of  the  churches,  attend  the  Bishop  when 
present  in  his  district,  direct  Candidates  in  their  studies, 
and  with  other  Presiding  Elders  form  the  advisory  coun- 
cil of  the  Bishop.f  A  Bishop  is  elected  by  the  General 
Conference  and  ordained  by  three  Bishops,  or  at  least 
one  Bishop  and  two  Elders.  His  duties  are  to  preside 
over  Conferences,  form  districts,  fix  appointments  for 
Preachers,  exercise  discipline,  travel,  oversee  the  churches, 
ordain,  decide  questions  of  law,  and  prescribe  courses  of 
study  for  Candidates.^  (In  regard  to  the  Lutheran 
Church,  see  p.  197.) 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


OF    TRANSLATION,    OR    REMOVING    A     MINISTER    FROM 
ONE   CHARGE   TO    ANOTHER. 

I.  Should  the  pastoral  relation  be  considered  permanent? 

The  Assembly  has  often  called  attention  to  the  fact 

that  the  constitution  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  recog- 

*  Disciidine,  1880,  1[1[  160,  169,  170.  f  Ibid.,  ^^  164-168. 

I  Ibid.,  Tin  158-163. 


TRANSLATION.  363 

nizes  the  pastoral  relation  as  a  permanent  one,  "  which 
time  and  years  shall  only  serve  to  strengthen  and  to 
hallow,  and  which  may  suitably  represent  in  outward 
form  the  stable  tendencies  of  our  orthodox  faith.  Our 
people  must  be  encouraged  to  call  Pastors  with  a  view 
of  keeping  them,  and  our  Ministers  must  enter  the  pas- 
torate to  abide."  * 

When  may  it  be  dissolved  ? 

By  death,  or  under  circumstances  described  in  the  next 
chapter,  or  when  the  Pastor's  services  are  demanded  by 
another  church  or  by  the  General  Assembly  in  its  Boards 
or  seminaries.  But  "  no  Bishop  shall  be  translated  from 
one  chureh  to  another,  nor  shall  he  receive  any  call  for  that 
purpose,  but  by  the  permission  of  the  Presbytery."  If  the 
General  Assembly  demands  his  services,  the  Presbytery 
may  remonstrate,  but  cannot  oppose  the  action  of  the 
supreme  court.  The  Professors  of  the  seminaries  are 
now  called  by  the  Directors,  subject  to  the  veto  of 
General  Assembly.f  Before  the  Assembly  has  taken 
action  the  call  may  come  before  Presbytery,  as  any  other 
call ;  their  decision  will  be  an  important  item  to  be  con- 
sidered by  the  Assembly  when  it  acts  upon  the  choice  of 
the  Directors. 

II.  If  the  Pastor  be  of  the  same  Presbytery  as  the  church 
desiring  him,  how  shall  the  call  be  prosecuted  ? 

The  call  must  be  made  out  according  to  the  previous 
chapter.!  "Afiy  church,  desiring  to  call  a  settled  Minister 
from  his  present  charge,  shall,  by  commissioners  properly 
authorized,  represent  to  the  Presbytery  the  g^^ound  on  which 
they  plead  for  his  removal."  This  is  often  the  peculiar- 
ities of  their  church,  its  importance,  its  field  of  useful- 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  1877,  p.  543.     See  p.  373.  f  See  p.  315. 

X  See  pp.  338-342. 


364  OF    TRANSLATION    OF    A    PASTOR. 

ness,  being  -  more  extended  than  that  now  occupied  by 
the  Minister,  and  his  special  adaptation  to  their  service. 
"The  Presbytery,  having  maturely  considered  their  plea, 
may,  according  as  it  appears  more  or  less  reasonable, 
either  recommend  to  them  to  desist  from  prosecuting  the 
call,  or  may  order  it  to  be  delivered  to  the  Minister  to 
whom  it  is  directed."  The  church  has  the  right  to 
appeal  or  complain  to  Presbytery  if  dissatisfied  with 
this  decision.  "If  the  parties  be  not  prepared  to  have 
the  matter  issued  at  that  Presbytery,  a  written  citation 
shall  be  given  to  the  Minister  and  his  congregation  to 
appear  before  the  Presbytery  at  their  next  meeting." 
This  is  to  enable  all  parties  concerned  to  present  their 
views  and  pleas  before  tlie  case  is  issued,  and  that  the 
Pastor  may  have  time  to  consider  his  duty  under  the 
circumstances.  "This  citation  shall  be  read  from  the  pul- 
pit in  that  church  by  a  member  of  the  Presbytery,  appointed 
for  that  purpose,  immediately  after  public  worship;  so  thai 
at  least  two  Sabbaths  shall  intervene  betwixt  the  citation 
and  the  meeting  of  the  Presbytery  at  ivhich  the  cause  of 
translation  is  to  be  considered."  This  is  in  accordance 
with  the  rule  that  citations  shall  be  served  at  least  ten 
days  before  parties  must  appear  before  the  court.*  In 
accordance  with  this  citation,  a  congregational  meeting, 
composed  of  those  who  in  that  congregation  have  the 
right  to  vote  for  a  Pastor,  shall  be  called  f  to  choose 
and  to  instruct  their  commissioners,  who  shall  appear 
and  answer  for  them  the  citation  of  Presbytery.  The 
cliurch  calling  the  Pastor  may  again  appear  by  commis- 
sioners to  urge  the  call,  "llie  Presbytery,  being  met  and 
having  Jieard  the  parties,  shall,  upon  the  whole  view  of  the 
ease,  either  coi\iinue  him  in  his  former  charge,  or  translate 
*  Book  of  Dkciplinc,  ch.  iv.,  sect.  v.  f  See  pp.  832,  335. 


TRANSLATION.  305 

him,  as  (hey  shall  deem  to  be  most  for  tJu  peace  and  edi- 
fication of  the  Church;  or  refer  the  whole  affair  to  the 
Synod  at  their  next  meeting  for  their  advice  and  direction.^' 
The  Presbytery  may  order  the  translation,  notwith- 
standing the  strong  protest  of  liis  present  charge;  that 
congregation  has,  however,  the  right  of  appeaL  But 
the  Presbytery  cannot  translate  a  Bishop  without  his 
consent.*  Sometimes  this  consent  is  implied  when  the 
Pastor  submits  the  whole  case  to  the  wisdom  of  the 
Presbytery.  The  question  is  not  often  brought  before 
the  Synod  except  by  complaint  or  appeal. 

May  this  process  be  shortened? 

Generally  it  is.  Indeed,  the  above  directions  are  only 
in  case  "  the  parties  he  not  prepared  to  have  the  matter 
issued  at  that  Presbytery."  The  fact  that  the  church 
has  made  out  a  call  is  often  at  once  communicated  to 
the  Minister ;  if  he  be  disposed  to  consider  the  question, 
he  consults  his  Session,  which  may  deem  it  expedient  to 
call  a  congregational  meeting  to  consider  the  matter  and 
appoint  commissioners  to  represent  them  when  the  call  is 
brought  before  the  Presbytery ;  in  which  case  all  parties 
are  prepared  to  present  their  pleas,  and  the  whole  matter 
may  be  issued  at  that  meeting.f 

in.  How  shall  the  call  be  prosecuted  if  the  Minister  be 
not  of  the  same  Presbytery  as  the  church  calling  him  ? 

The  call  is  made  out  as  before,  and  presented  for  ap- 
proval to  the  Presbytery  to  which  that  church  belongs. 
"I7ie  congregation  shall  obtain  leave  from  the  Presbytery  to 
which  they  belong  to  apply  to  the  Presbytery  of  which  he  is  a 
member;  and  that  Presbytery,  having  cited,  him  and  his  con- 
gregation as  before  directed,  shall  proceed  to  hear  and  issue 
the  cause."     This  application  is  made,  as  before,  l)y  the 

*  See  p.  367.  f  Presbyter  inn  T)i(/esf,  p  417. 


366  OF    TRANSLATION    OF    A    PASTOR. 

commissioners  of  the  congregation,  who  carry  with  them 
the  call  and  a  certified  copy  of  the  approval  of  their  Pres- 
bytery. All  parties  shall  be  heard  as  before.  If  the 
call  be  approved,  and  "  if  they  agree  to  the  translation," 
they  shall  place  the  call  in  his  hands ;  and  if  he  express 
a  willingness  to  accept  it,  "  they  shall  release  him  from 
his  present  charge  ;  and,  having  given  him  proper  testimo- 
nials, shall  require  him  to  repair  to  that  Presbytery  within 
the  hounds  of  which  the  congregation  calling  him  lies,  that 
the  proper  steps  may  be  taken  for  his  regular  settlement  in 
that  congregation ;  and  the  Presbytery  to  which  the  congre- 
gation belongs,  having  received  an  authenticated  certificate 
of  his  release  under  the  hand  of  the  Clerk  of  that  Presby- 
tery, shall  proceed  to  install  him  in  the  congregation  as  soon 
as  convenient"  There  is  some  difference  of  opinion  and 
practice  as  to  which  Presbytery  places  the  call  in  his 
hands.  The  language,  however,  just  quoted  would  seem 
to  assert  that  the  call  approved  by  the  Presbytery  of  the 
church  is  sent  with  the  commissioners  to  that  Presbytery 
of  which  the  Minister  is  a  member,  which  " shall  proceed 
to  hear  and  issue  the  cause."  He  should  not  be  released 
from  his  charge  nor  dismissed  from  his  Presbytery  until 
the  call  is  in  his  hands  and  his  consent  has  been  obtained. 
And  the  Presbytery  to  which  he  goes  is  not  directed  to 
do  anything  save  to  take  "proper  steps  for  his  regular  set- 
tlement," or,  as  it  is  again  expressed,  "having  received  an 
authenticated  certificate  of  his  release,  .  .  .  shall  proceed 
to  install  him  in  the  congregation  as  soon  as  convenierU." 

May  this  process  be  shortened  ? 

It  may  be  shortened.  (1)  The  Minister,  being  inform- 
ed of  the  action  of  the  congregation  and  of  the  Pres- 
bytery, may  inform  his  own  people  in  time  for  them  to 
appoint  commissioners  to  a])pear  at  tiie  first  meeting  of 


INSTALLATION.  o67 

their  Presbytery.*  (2)  The  Minister,  informed  that  a  call 
has  been  made  out  for  him,  before  either  Presbytery  has 
taken  action  may  be  so  clear  as  to  his  duty  and  confident 
of  the  action  of  both  Presbyteries,  that  he  may  take  steps 
to  secure  leave  to  resign  his  charge,  according  to  ch.  xvii.,t 
and  be  transferred  by  his  Presbytery  to  that  one  within 
whose  bounds  the  church  calling  him  may  be,  and  thus 
be  ready  to  receive  the  call  as  soon  as  it  may  be  presented 
before  that  body.  This  is  often  done  when  the  Presby- 
teries are  at  considerable  distance  or  their  times  of  meet- 
ing are  inconvenient  for  the  other  process.  In  this  case 
the  Presbytery,  before  releasing  him  from  his  charge, 
should  be  fully  informed  of  the  fact  and  character  of 
the  call  which  he  desires  to  accept. 

May  a  Pastor  be  translated  without  his  consent? 

^^Provided  always  that  no  Bishop  or  Pastor  shall  be 
translated  without  his  own  consent  previously  obtained." 
This  does  not  forbid  the  Presbytery  to  dissolve  a  pastoral 
relation  without  the  consent  of  the  Pastor.J 

IV.  What  is  installment  ? 

"It  co7isists  in  constituting  a  pastoral  relation  between 
him  and  the  people  of  that  particular  church."  When  a 
Licentiate  receives  a  call,  his  installation  forms  a  part  of 
the  service  of  ordination.§  When,  however,  a  Minister 
is  to  be  settled  over  a  congregation,  he  is  installed  only. 
Installation  "may  be  performed  either  by  the  Presbytery 
or  by  a  committee  appointed  for  that  purpose,  as  may 
appear  most  expedient."  It  is  generally  performed  by  a 
committee  appointed  by  Presbytery,  and  composed  of 
those  selected  to  take  part  in  the  service. 

V.  When  may  installation  take  place  ? 

"A  day  shall  be  appointed  for  the  installment,  at  such 
*See  p.  375.         f  See  p.  STL  t  See  p.  380.  §  See  p.  351. 


368  OF    TRANSLATION    OF    A    PASTOR. 

time  as  may-  appeal'  most  convenient,  and  due  notice  thereof 
given  to  the  congregation."  It  would  seem  that  since  the 
Assembly  discourages  ordination  on  the  Sabbath,  installa- 
tion should  be  on  some  other  day ;  yet,  as  in  ordination, 
the  question  is  left  to  the  discretion  of  Presbytery.* 

VI.  What  services  should  precede  installation? 

The  ordinary  service  of  the  church,  and  ^^  a  sermon  shaJi 
be.  delivered  by  some  one  of  the  members  previously  appoint- 
ed thereto."  Sometimes  the  sermon,  by  consent  of  Pres- 
bytery, is  delivered  by  a  Minister  of  another  Presbytery 
(considered  perhaps  as  a  corresponding  member).  '■'After 
which  the  Bishop  loho  is  to  preside  shall  state  to  the  congre- 
gation the  design  of  their  meeting,  and  briefly  recite  the  'pro- 
ceedings of  the  Presbytery  relative  thereto." 

Whcl  promises  are  required  of  the  Minister  ? 

The  following  questions  are  asked  of  the  Minister  as 
he  stands  near  the  pulpit  before  the  congregation : 

1.  ''Are  you  noiv  willing  to  take  the  charge  of  this  con- 
gregation as  their  Pastor,  agreeably  to  your  declaration  at 
accepting  their  calif" 

2.  "Do  you  cooiscientiously  believe  and  declare,  as  far  as 
you  know  your  own  heart,  that  in  taking  upon  you  this 
charge  you  are  influenced  by  a  sincere  desire  to  promote  the 
glory  of  God  and  the  good  of  his  Church  f " 

3.  "Do  you  solemnly  promise  that  by  the  assistance  of  the 
grace  of  God  you  will  endeavor  faithfully  to  discharge  all 
die  duties  of  a  Pastor  to  this  congregation,  and  will  be  care- 
ful to  maintain  a  deportment  in  all  respects  becoming  a  Min- 
ister of  the  gospel  of  Christ,  agreeably  to  your  ordination  en- 
gagements f" 

The  answers  to  these  questions  should  be  given  in  a 
clear,  audible  voice. 

*  Prexhylerian  Digest,  p.  410.     See  p.  350. 


INSTALLATION.  369 

What  promises  are  required  of  the  congregation? 

The  presiding  Minister  "sJiall  p-opose  to  ilie  people  the 
same  or  like  questions  as  those  directed  under  the  head  of 
ordination"  to  wit ;  * 

1.  "Do  you,  the  people  of  this  congregation,  continue  to 

p7'ofess  your  readiness  to  receive ,  whom 

you  have  called  to  be  your  llinisterf 

2.  "Do  you  promise  to  receive  the.  word  of  truth  from  his 
mouth  with  meekness  and  love,  and  to  submit  to  him  in  due 
exercise  of  discipline  f 

3.  ^^Do  you  promise  to  encourage  him  in  his  arduous 
labor,  and  to  assist  his  endeavors  for  your  histi'uction  and 
spiritual  edification  f 

4.  "And  do  you  engage  to  continue  to  him,  while  he  is 
your  Pastor,  that  competent  worldly  maintenance  which  you 
have  promised,  and  lohatever  else  you  may  see  needful  for 
the  honor  of  religion  and  his  comfort  among  you  f " 

The  people  generally  remain  seated  while  these  ques- 
tions are  proposed,  but  the  service  is  more  impressive, 
and  the  obligation  is  better  realized,  when  the  people 
stand  before  God  and  the  Presbytery  and  give  their  assent. 

How  are  these  questions  to  be  answered  ? 

"By  holding  up  the  right  hand  in  testimony  of  assent." 
This  should  be  regarded  as  a  most  solemn  covenant  with 
God  to  be  faithful  in  their  duties  to  their  Pastor.  It  may 
be  given  by  voice  or  by  bowing  the  head. 

Who  should  answer  these  questions  ? 

"The  people" — all  connected  with  the  congregation, 
especially  those  who  have  the  right  to  vote  for  a  Pastor 
in  that  congregation. 

How  should  the  installation  be  announced  ? 

Both  parties  having  expressed  their  readiness  to  enter 

*  See  p.  352. 
Y 


370  OF    TRANSLATION    OF    A    PASTOFt. 

into  this  relation  and  to  perform  its  duties,  and  the  Pres- 
bytery having  ordered  it,  the  presiding  Minister  "shall 
solemnly  pronounce  and  declare  the  said  Minister  to  be  reg- 
ularly constituted  the  Pastor  of  that  congregation."  The 
prayer  of  installation  is  then  oifered,  asking  the  divine 
approval  and  blessing.* 

What  charges  are  given? 

"A  charge  shall  then  be  given  to  both  parties,  as  directed 
in  the  case  of  ordination."  * 

How  should  the  service  be  closed? 

"After  'prayer  and  singing  a  psalm  adapted  to  the  trains- 
action,  the  congregation  shall  be  dismissed  with  the  usual 
benediction."  This  is  pronounced  by  the  newly-installed 
Pastor. 

Vn.  How  should  the  people  welcome  their  Pastor  ? 

"It  is  highly  becoming  that,  after  the  solemnity  of  the  in- 
stallment, the  heads  of  families  of  that  congregation  who 
are  then  present,  or  at  least  the  Elders  and  those  appointed 
to  take  care  of  the  tempo7-al  concerns  of  that  church,  should 
come  forward  to  their  Pastor  and  give  him  their  right  hand 
in  toke7i  of  cordial  reception  and  affectionate  regard."  *  It 
is  also  proper  that  the  children  of  the  church  should  come 
forward  to  greet  their  Pastor,  as  they  are  in  a  special 
manner  to  be  under  his  care.f 

Is  the  service  of  installation  necessary  ? 

Without  it  a  Minister  may  perform  the  duties  of  a 
Pastor  for  a  time.  He  is  then  called  a  Stated  Supply, 
but  he  has  no  seat  in  the  Session  nor  authority  in  disci- 
pline or  government  in  that  congregation. J  Neverthe- 
less, in  1736  the  Synod  recognized  tlie  pastoral  relation 
between  Rev.  Mr.  Tennent  and  the  church  at  Neshaminy, 
although  no  formal  installment  had  taken  place.     The 

*  See  p.  355.  f  See  pp.  107,  158.  J  See  p.  48. 


RESIGNATION    OF   PASTOR.  371 

omission  of  the  service  was  not  justified  by  the  Synod. 
The  case  was  peculiar,  owing  to  the  condition  of  the 
churches  at  that  time,  and  especially  to  the  fact  that  Mr. 
Tennent  had  for  some  time  in  all  respects  acted,  and  been 
regarded  by  the  community,  church,  Presbytery  and  Syn- 
od, as  the  Pastor  of  that  congregation.*  But  now  instal- 
lation is  necessary. 

How  are  Pastors  installed  In  other  churclies  ? 

In  the  Episcopal  Church  the  service  is  called  "  The 
Office  of  Institution  of  Ministers  into  Parishes  or 
Churches."  It  is  performed  by  one  or  more  Presby- 
ters appointed  by  the  Bishop,  during  which  service  the 
Senior  Warden  presents  to  the  Minister  the  keys  of  the 
church,  and  the  Institutor  gives  him  the  Bible,  the  Book 
of  Common  Prayer  and  the  Books  of  the  Canons,  to  be 
the  "  rule  of  his  conduct  in  dispensing  the  divine  word, 
in  leading  the  devotions  of  the  people  and  in  exercising 
discipline  in  the  Church."  f 

In  the  Congregational  Church  the  service  resembles 
our  own,| 

In  the  Methodist  Church  there  is  no  such  service,  as 
the  Pastors  are  appointed  yearly.  Their  system  is  that 
of  itineracy,  and  not  of  a  settled  Ministry. 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

OF    RESIGNING    A    PASTORAL  CHARGE. 

Can  a  Pastor  resign  Ms  charge  ? 

As  the  pastoral  relation  is  not  the  result  of  a  mutual 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  419.  f  Book  of  Common  Prayer. 

X  See  p.  359. 


372  OF    RESIGNING    A    PASTORA  [.  CHARGE. 

agreement  between  the  Minister  and  the  people,  but  has 
been  approved  and  constituted  by  the  Presbytery,  it  can- 
not be  dissolved  at  the  pleasure  either  of  the  Pastor  or 
congregation.  The  Presbytery  has  full  and  sole  author- 
ity.* The  Minister  cannot  at  pleasure  leave  his  position 
and  enter  upon  any  other  engagement.  Neither  can  the 
congregation  dismiss  the  Pastor  or  engage  another  with- 
out the  sanction  of  Presbytery.  "  Wheoi  any  Minister 
shall  labor  under  such  grievances  in  his  congregation  as 
that  he  shall  desire  leave  to  resign  his  pastoral  charge,  the 
Presbytery  shall  cite  the  congregation  to  appear,  by  their 
commissioners,  at  their  next  meeting,  to  show  cause,  if  they 
have  any,  why  the  Presbytery  should  not  accept  the  resig- 
nation.^' "And  if  any  congregcdion  shall  desire  to  be  re- 
leased from  their  pastor,  a  similar  process,  mutatis  mu- 
tandis, shall  be  observed."  This  does  not  imply  a  want, 
of  consultation  between  the  Pastor  and  people,  but  that 
the  resignation  must  be  made  to  the  Presbytery,  who 
must  judge  if  the  grievances  be  of  such  a  nature  as  to 
render  the  dissolution  of  the  relation  desirable.f 

What  is  meant  by  "  grievance  "  ? 

That  which  burdens,  oppresses  or  injures  in  the  dis- 
charge of  duty.  It  may  be  found  in  the  person  or 
family  of  the  Pastor,  or  in  the  community  or  the  con- 
gregation, or  in  the  official  relation.  It  may  be  any- 
thing which  interferes  with  or  prevents  the  usefulness 
of  the  Pastor,  such  as  sickness,  loss  of  faculties,  infirm- 
ities of  age,  the  state  of  health  of  his  ftimily,  the  needs 
of  the  several  members  thereof,  want  of  j)roper  support, 
loss  of  the  confidence  or  affections  of  the  people,  positive 
opposition  against  him  or  his  work  in  the  church,  or  the 
failure  of  the  people  to  perform  the  promises  made  at 
*  See  p.  346.  f  See  p.  203. 


RESIGNATION    OF    PASTOR.  373 

the  settlement.  The  grievances  of  the  people  may  be 
such  as  these:  their  inability  to  continue  the  support 
promised,  a  growing  dissatisfaction  with  the  character 
of  their  Minister's  services  as  Preacher  or  Pastor.  A 
grievance  does  not  include  immorality  or  heresy — when 
these  exist  charges  should  be  made  before  Presbytery* — 
t)ut  a  want  of  adaptation  or  co-operation  oil  the  part  of 
Pastor,  and  people. 

Should  the  pastoral  relation  be  dissolved  for  slight 
causes? 

The  whole  chapter  implies  that  the  pastoral  relation 
should  not  be  hastily  or  without  grave  cause  disturbed. 
The  relation  should  be  regarded  as  permanent,  whose 
influence  for  good  should  increase  with  years.f  In  1880 
the  Assembly  declared  that,  "  Whereas  the  frequent  dis- 
solution of  the  pastoral  relation  is  a  growing  evil  in  our 
Church,  arising  largely  out  of  the  loose  opinions  which 
prevail  as  to  the  relation  of  Pastor  and  people,  and  the 
influence  of  men  who  regard  more  the  financial  than  the 
spiritual  interests  of  the  Church ;  therefore  Resolved,  1. 
That  the  Presbyteries  be  reminded  of  the  necessity  of 
giving  full  and  clear  instruction  on  the  subject  at  the 
time  of  installation  of  Pastors.  2.  That  article  xvii. 
of  our  'Form  of  Government/  in  its  spirit  and  letter, 
should  be  strictly  observed  by  all  our  Pastors  and 
churches,  and  that  our  Presbyteries  be  enjoined  to  seek 
its  rigid  enforcement."! 

It  is  implied  in  this  chapter  that  even  real  and  serious 
grievances  should  be  long  and  patiently  borne  before  any 
steps  are  taken,  and  that  the  relation  be  not  dissolved 
until  in  the  judgment  of  Presbytery  and  of  either  Pas- 

*  Book  of  Discipline,  cli.  v.  t  ^^e  p.  8fi2. 

X  Minutcfi  G.  A.  18S0,  p.  77  ;   rresbylerian  Di^jc^i,  p.  120. 
32 


374  OF   RESIGNING   A    PASTORAL  CHARGE. 

tor  or  people  it  be  expedient  or  necessary.  "  When  any 
Mimster  shall  labor  under  such  grievances,'^  etc. 

What  steps  should  be  taken  by  the  Pastor  ? 

When  it  is  plain  to  a  Pastor  that  it  is  his  duty  to  him- 
self or  to  the  church  that  he  should  resign,  it  would  be 
proper  for  him  (1)  to  consult  one  or  more  of  his  co-Pres- 
byters ;  (2)  to  seek  the  advice  of  the  Elders,  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  church  and  his  official  advisers  in  all 
that  concerns  the  congregation ;  (3)  to  inform  the  Session 
of  his  determination;  (4)  to  give  public  notice  of  his 
intention  to  ask  Presbytery  to  release  him  from  his 
pastoral  charge ;  and  (5)  to  present  before  that  body  a 
written  or  verbal  statement  of  his  desire  and  of  his  rea- 
son for  the  request.  The  Presbytery  then  "shall  cite  the 
congregation  to  appear  by  their  commissioners,  at  their  next 
meeting,  to  show  cause,  if  any  they  have,  why  the  Presbytery 
should  not  accept  the  resignation." 

Can  the  Presbytery  at  its  first  meeting  accept  the  resig- 
nation? 

The  intent  of  this  chapter  is  to  forbid  hasty  action, 
and  to  prevent  the  dissolution  until  the  church  as  well 
as  the  Pastor  be  fully  heard.  If,  however,  the  congre- 
gation has  been  duly  informed  by  the  Pastor  of  his 
intention,  and  been  invited  to  unite  with  him  in  his 
request  to  Presbytery,  and  if  the  Session  has  called  a 
meeting  of  the  congregation  to  consider  the  question  and 
X)  appoint  commissioners  to  appear  and  answer  at  the 
first  meeting,  then  the  Presbytery  may  proceed  at  once.* 
At  the  meeting  of  the  congregation  the  grievance  may 
appear  imaginary  or  less  serious  than  was  supposed,  or  it 
may  be  removed,  or  love  to  the  Pastor  may  be  found  so 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  419,  420.   See  Form  of  Government,  cli.  xvi., 
sect.  ii.     See  p.  365. 


REHIGNATION    BEFOPwE    PRESBYTERY.  375 

general  and  deep-seated,  and  the  interests  at  stake  to  be 
so  great,  that  the  Pastor  may  be  induced  to  withdraw  his 
notice  of  resignation.  Or  it  may  be  ascertained  that  the 
Pastor  has  been  misinformed  as  to  the  condition  of  the 
church  and  the  state  of  feeling  toward  him  and  his  work. 
Or  the  congregation  may  be  so  convinced  that  he  ought 
not  to  leave  them  that  they  shall  refuse  to  unite  with  him 
in  his  application  to  Presbytery,  and  the  Pastor  may  be 
unwilling  to  urge  his  desire  against  this  opposition.  In 
these  cases  no  further  step  need  be  taken,  save  a  public 
notice  that  he  has  determined  to  accede  to  their  desire  and 
remain  as  their  Pastor.  But  if  he  continue  unchanged  in 
liis  convictions  of  duty,  the  matter  must  come  before  Pres- 
bytery. 

How  shall  the  congregation  appear  ? 

'^ By  their  commissioners.''  These  must  be  appointed  at 
<he  meeting  of  the  congregation  called  by  the  Session  for 
this  purpose,  presided  over  by  the  Pastor  or  by  a  Minister 
of  the  Presbytery  chosen  by  the  Pastor  and  Session,  and 
the  voters  being  those  who  in  that  church  have  the  right 
to  vote  for  a  Pastor.*  The  number  of  commissioners 
may  be  determined  by  the  meeting.  Sometimes  they  are 
chosen  to  represent  the  Session  and  the  congregation, 
or  from  different  classes  of  the  congregation,  or  from 
the  majority  and  the  minority  if  there  be  a  serious  divis- 
ion on  the  matter  or  no  positive  decision  is  arrived  at. 
The  object  is  to  place  before  the  Presbytery  a  true 
and  fair  representation  of  the  wishes  and  views  of  the 
people.  The  commissioners  should  take  with  them  the 
authenticated  copies  of  the  minutes  of  the  meeting,  and 
be  prepared  to  make,  in  writing  or  verbally,  further 
statements  if  necessary.     They  may  be  instructed  to  join 

*  See  pp.  126,  332. 


376  OF   EESIGJS'ING    A    PASTORAL  CflARGE. 

with  the  Pastor  in  liis  request,  or  "to  show  cause,  if  anif 
they  have,  why  the  Presbytery  should  not  accept  the  resigna- 
tion." And  if  they  be  not  satisfied  with  the  action  of 
Presbytery,  they  have  a  right  to  complain  to  the  higher 
courts. 

May  the  Presbytery  decide  in  opposition  to  the  wishes 
of  the  church  ? 

The  Presbytery  must  be  duly  certified  that  the  congre- 
gation has  received  proper  notice  and  had  opportunity  to 
appoint  commissioners — that  the  citations  have  been  duly 
served.  But  "  if  the  congregation  fail  to  appear,  or  if  their 
reasons  for  retaining  their  Pastor  be  deemed  by  the  Presbytery 
instifficient,  he  shall  have  leave  granted  to  resign  his  pastoral 
charge,  of  which  due  record  shall  be  made,  and  that  church 
shall  be  held  vacant  till  supplied  again  in  an  orderly  man- 
ner with  another  Minister."  The  responsibility  of  the  de- 
(;ision  rests  upon  the  Presbytery.  Tiie  church  or  Pastor 
feeling  aggrieved  by  the  decision  may  appeal  or  complain 
to  the  Synod. 

If  the  congregation  shall  labor  under  grievances,  what 
steps  should  be  taken  ? 

Prayer,  especially  in  secret,  increased  personal  activity 
in  co-operation  with  the  Pastor,  will  certainly  lessen,  if 
not  remove,  the  supposed  or  real  grievances.  If  any  new 
financial  burden  come  upon  the  congregation,  the  Trus- 
tees should  at  once  consult  with  the  Pastor  in  regard  to 
it.  If  the  spiritual  interests  of  the  church  are  suffering 
from  any  cause,  even  from  the  Avant  of  necessary  quali- 
fications in  the  Pastor,  or  from  his  neglect  of  duties  or 
lack  of  spirituality  or  devotedness,  or  from  sickness  or 
the  increasing  infirmities  of  age,  it  is  the  duty  of  the 
Elders,  with  much  prayer  and  tenderness,  to  inform  him 
of  the  facts.     He  is  over  them  in  the  Lord.     They  have 


CONGREGATION    AGGRIEVED.  377 

no  right  to  find  fault  or  to  reprove.  He  is  not  their 
servant  nor  their  equal.  He  is  accountable  to  the  Pres- 
bytery. But  the  Elders,  as  "  the  representatives  of  the 
people,"  and,  "in  conjunction  with  the  Pastor,"  being 
"  charged  with  maintaining  the  spiritual  government  of 
the  congregation,"  and  "to  concert  the  best  measures  for 
promoting  the  spiritual  interests  of  the  congregation,"* 
ought  to  keep  him  informed  of  everything  that  hinders 
his  work  among  them  or  their  growth  in  grace.  If  there 
be  any  alienation  of  the  congregation,  or  a  general  and 
growing  dissatisfaction  with  his  preaching  or  pastoral 
work,  or  if  there  be  a  disaflFected  minority  who  are  ex- 
erting an  injurious  influence,  the  Elders  should  know  it, 
and  should  impart  the  knowledge  to  the  Pastor,  that  he 
may  consult  wdth  them  how  to  remove  these  hindrances 
to  his  usefulness.  Under  these  trying  circumstances  the 
people  and  the  Elders,  their  representatives,  should  re- 
member the  solemn  vows  which  they  made  when  he  was 
made  their  Pastor,t  and  especially  if  he  has  grown  old 
in  their  service.  The  result  of  such  official  fidelity, 
Christian  sympathy  and  mutual  confidence  will  very 
often  remove  the  grievances  without  disturbing  the 
pastoral  relation.  Sometimes  the  information  has  been 
withheld  too  long,  or  the  Pastor  may  conclude  that  the 
interests  of  the  church  may  be  best  promoted  by  his 
resignation,  and  he  will  take  the  necessary  steps.J  But 
in  that  case  he  will  respect  and  love  the  Elders  for  their 
Christian  fidelity,  and  will  leave  the  church  harmonious 
and  ready  to  be  benefited  by  the  labors  of  another  Pas- 
tor. If,  however,  the  measures  proposed  by  the  Session 
do  not  remove  the  grievance,  further  conference  should 

*  Form  of  Oovernmenl,  ch.  v.,  and  ch.  ix.,  sect.  vi. 
t  See  p.  352.  %  See  p.  374. 

32  « 


378  OF    RESIGNING    A    PASTORAL  CHARGE. 

be  had  between  the  Elders  and  the  Pastor,  and  other 
measures  adopted  and  tried.  If  these  should  fail,  or  if 
the  Pastor  should  refuse  to  consider  the  grievance  of  the 
people — which  nevertheless  continues  to  interfere  with 
the  spiritual  edification  of  the  church — the  Elders 
"  should  apply  to  some  other  Bishop  of  the  Presbytery 
for  his  advice  in  the  case,"*  for  the  same  reasons, 
among  others,  as  when  ill-report  or  charges  are  brought 
against  a  Minister.  Generally,  such  advice  will  be  given 
to  the  Pastor  and  Elders  as  will  remove  the  grievance  or 
induce  the  Pastor  to  resign  his  charge.  If  not,  the  Elders 
should  very  seriously  consider  the  interests  of  their  Pas- 
tor and  the  church,  and,  if  thought  necessary,  the  whole 
case  should  by  them  be  brought  before  Presbytery,  the 
Pastor  being  kindly  informed  of  their  intention.  This 
should  be  done  (1)  by  a  formal  reference  of  the  case  by 
vote  of  Session  ;t  or  (2)  by  a  petition  of  the  Elders  of 
the  church  or  of  any  persons  in  the  congregation ;  f  or 
(3)  the  condition  of  the  church  may  be  brought  to  the 
consideration  of  Presbytery  on  the  review  of  the  minutes 
of  Session.!  If  the  case  be  very  urgent,  the  Session  may, 
on  their  own  motion  or  at  request  of  the  people,§  call  a 
meeting  of  the  congregation  to  appoint  commissioners  to 
appear  before  Presbytery  at  its  next  meeting  and  state 
their  grievances,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Pastor  laboring 
under  grievances.  The  Presbytery  will  act  as  before, 
citing  both  parties  to  show  cause,  etc. 

May  a  congregation,  desiring  the  resignation  of  the  Pas- 
tor, make  grievances  to  induce  him  to  resign  ? 

No.  That  were  unchristian  and  a  violation  of  the 
vows  made  by  the  people  at  his  installation.     They  are 

*  Book  of  DiKcipiine,  ch.  v.,  sect.  vi.  f  Ibid.,  ch.  vii.,  sect.  ii. 

X  Ibid.,  ch.  vii.,  sect.  1.  i  See  pp.  161,  332. 


DISSOLUTION    OF   PASTORAL    RELATION.  379 

bound  to  "  receive  the  word  of  truth  from  his  mouth 
with  meekness  and  love,  and  to  submit  to  liim  in  the 
due  exercise  of  discipline;"  "to  encourage  him  in  his 
arduous  labors,  and  to  assist  his  endeavors  for  their  in- 
struction and  spiritual  edification."  *  Any  open  or  secret 
opposition,  personal  or  organized,  is  a  violation  of  these 
vows,  and  renders  the  person  or  persons  so  etigaged  liable 
to  charges  as  disturbers  of  the  peace  of  the  Church. 

May  tlie  congregation  signify  their  dissatisfaction  by 
diminishing  the  Pastor's  salary? 

That  were  unmanly,  unchristian  and  a  violation  of  the 
contract  in  the  call  and  of  the  vows  made  at  his  installa- 
tion.f 

Is  the  Pastor's  presence  necessary  at  the  congregational 
meeting  ? 

No.  The  call  for  the  meeting  must  come  from  the 
Session.^  If  the  Pastor  declines  to  be  present,  or  if  the 
Session  deem  it  advisable,  they  should  invite  some  other 
Bishop  of  the  Presbytery  to  moderate  the  meeting.  § 
If  the  application  to  dissolve  the  pastoral  relation  comes 
from  the  Pastor,  as  well  as  from  the  congregation,  the 
meeting  is  valid  without  his  presence  and  co-operation. 
So  the  O.  S.  Assembly  decided.  || 

May  the  Presbytery  dissolve  the  relation  on  the  petition 
of  a  minority  ? 

It  may.  However  the  case  may  be  brought  before  the 
Presbytery,  by  the  general  review,  by  petition  of  Pastor 
or  of  Elders  or  of  the  congregation  or  of  a  minority, 
that  court  has  the  power  to  render  the  decision,  which 
must  be  determined,  not  by  the  wishes  of  the  parties, 
but  by  the  interests  of  the  Pastor  and  the  church.     The 

*  See  p.  353.        f  See  p.  340.        J  See  p.  332.         |  See  p.  126. 

II  Prcshi/tcrian  Digest,  p.  420. 


380  OF    RESIGNING    A    PASTORAL   CHARGE. 

right  must  -be  recognized  "of  .each  congregation  to  de- 
cide whether  a  Pastor  is  acceptable  to  them,  and  the 
wishes  of  a  majority  are  to  be  set  aside  only  for  weighty 
reasons ;  yet  such  a  state  of  things  may  exist  between 
the  Pastor  and  a  portion  of  his  people  as  shall  require 
for  the  fair  name  of  religion  that  the  relation  be  dis- 
solved."    So  the  O.  S.  Assembly  decided.* 

May  the  relation  be  dissolved  contrary  to  the  wishes  of 
the  Pastor? 

Yes,  for  the  same  reasons.  This  is  implied  in  the 
whole  of  this  chapter.  The  Pastor  has  the  right  to 
complain  to  the  higher  courts.f 

How  is  the  church  to  be  declared  vacant  ? 

After  the  vote  is  taken  on  the  question,  the  Moderator 
should  declare  that  the  Pastor  is  relieved  from  the  charge 

of  the church,  and  a  member  of  the  Presbytery 

should  be  appointed  to  preach  in  that  church  on  a  certain 
Lord's  Day,  and  in  the  name  of  the  Presbytery  to  declare 
the  pulpit  vacant.  Generally,  permission  is  given  to  the 
Session  to  supply  their  pulpit  until  the  next  meeting  of 
the  Presbytery. 

How  do  Pastors  resign  in  other  churches  ? 

In  the  Episcopal  Church  "a  Rector,  canonically  elected 
and  in  charge,  or  an  instituted  Minister,  may  not  resign 
his  parish  without  consent  of  the  said  parish  or  its  Vestry 
(if  the  Vestry  be  authorized  to  act  in  the  premises) ;  nor 
may  such  Rector  or  Minister  be  removed  therefrom  by 
said  parish  or  Vestry  against  his  will,"  except  under  certain 
circumstances.  Any  difficulty  arising  betwecni  Rector  and 
parish  "  which  may  not  be  satisfactorily  settled  by  the  godly 
judgment  of  the  Bishop  alone,  .  .  .  the  Bishop,  acting 
with  th5  advice  and  consent  of  the  Standing  Committee 

*  Prctibytcrian  Di<jex(,  p.  121.  f  Ibid.,  \i\\  120,  421. 


MISSIONS.  381 

of  the  diocese,  .  .  .  shall  be  the  ultimate  arbitrator  and 
judge."  If  the  Rector's  resignation  is  accepted  by  the 
Vestry,  the  fact  should  be  reported  to  the  Bishop  for 
his  approval.* 

In  the  Congregational  Church,  when  a  Pastor  wishes 
to  resign  his  charge  he  notifies  his  congregation  of  the 
fact,  and  sends  his  letter  of  resignation  to  a  meeting  of 
the  church  and  also  to  the  society,  who  take  separate  ac- 
tion thereon,  and  call  a  Council  "to  devise  and  act  .  .  . 
in  the  emergency,  and  to  give  the  Minister  a  parting 
letter  of  recommendation."  f 

In  the  Methodist  Church  the  Minister  in  charge  is 
appointed  only  for  one  year,  and  if  possible  he  will  bear 
the  grievance  until  the  end  of  his  appointment,  inform- 
ing the  Presiding  Elder  and  the  Bishop  of  his  desire  to 
be  sent  to  some  other  church  at  the  next  Annual  Con- 
ference. If,  however,  for  any  reason,  he  desires  to  leave 
the  church  before  the  end  of  the  year,  he  must  obtain  per- 
mission to  do  so  from  the  Presiding  Elder  and  Bishop.| 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

OF   MISSIONS. 


What  is  meant  by  "missions"? 

The  word  "  mission  "  is  used  to  indicate  the  act  of 
sending  or  being  sent  by  authority  to  do  a  certain  work ; 
or  the  persons  sent  especially  to  propagate  religion ;  or 
the  station  of  missionaries.     The  word  is  here  used  to 

*  Digest  of  the  Canon,  title  ii.,  canon  iv. 

t  Congregational  Manual,  p.  10;  Congregationalism,  pp.  198-205. 

t  Discipline,  1880,  1fl[  160,  166. 


382  OF   MISSIONS. 

include  the  authority  and  the  eiforts  of  the  Church  to 
extend  its  boundaries,  and  especially  to  preach  the  gospel 
to  the  destitute  within  the  bounds  of  Presbyteries  through- 
out our  land  and  in  other  countries. 

When  vacancies  occur  in  a  Presbytery,  what  should  be 
done? 

The  Presbytery  has  the  oversight  of  the  territory  as- 
signed to  it  by  the  General  Assembly,  and  should  feel  its 
responsibility  to  see  that  the  gospel  is  faithfully  preached 
to  all  within  its  bounds.*  If  any  of  its  churches  be 
vacant,  it  should  take  such  action  as  may  be  necessary 
to  secure  for  them  Pastors,t  and  to  provide  regular  ser- 
vices for  each  during  its  vacancy. J  "When  vacancies 
become  so  numerous  in  any  Presbytery  that  they  cannot  be 
supplied  with  frequent  administrations  of  the  word  and 
ordinances,  it  shall  be  'proper  for  such  Presbytery,  or  va- 
cant congregation  within  their  bounds,  with  leave  of  the 
Presbytery,  to  apply  to  any  other  Presbytery,  or  to  any 
Synod,  or  to  the  Genei^al  Assembly,  for  such  assistance  as 
they  can  afford."  This  applies  to  the  destitute  fields 
M^ithin  the  bounds  of  the  Presbytery,  as  well  as  to  the 
organized  churches. 

What  assistance  may  be  expected? 

1.  Ministers  and  Licentiates,  who  should  be  furnished 
with  proper  certificates.  "When  any  Presbytery  shall 
send  any  of  their  Ministers  or  Probationers  to  distant 
vacancies,  the  Uissionary  shall  be  ready  to  produce  his 
credentials  to  the  Presbytery  or  Presbyteries  through  the 
bounds  of  which  he  may  j^oss,  or  at  least  to  a  committee 
thereof,  and  obtain  their  approbation." 

2.  Pecuniary  help  should  be  given.    "Provided  always 

*  Assembly's  Digest,  p.  321.  f  See  p.  212. 

X  Form  of  Government,  ch.  xxi.     See  p.  328,  505. 


MISSIONARIES.  .JSo 

.  .  .  that  the  judicatory  sending  them  make  the  necessary 
provision  for  their  support  and  retoard  in  the  performance 
of  this  service.''  When  the  vacant  church  is  able  to  sup- 
port a  Minister,  then  the  means  will  not  be  "  necessary/' 
and  the  church  should  soon  proceed  to  make  out  a  call 
for  him  to  be  settled  over  them.*  In  1709  the  Ministers 
of  London  promised  to  send  two  itinerant  Ministers  to 
help  the  Church  in  this  country  and  support  them  for 
two  years,  but  "they  drew  back  their  hand,"  and  in  1710 
the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia  applied  to  the  Presbytery 
of  Dublin  to  send  and  support  one  young  Minister  for 
one  year.f 

To  whom  are  these  Missionaries  responsible  ? 

Ministers  are  always  responsible  to  the  Presbyteries 
to  which  they  belong.|  This  is  true,  though  they  may 
derive  their  support  entirely  from  some  other  source,  and 
though  they  may  be  called  upon  to  report  the  advance  of 
their  work  to  some  other  body  or  bodies.  When  labor- 
ing within  the  bounds  of  another  Presbytery,  a  Minister 
must  "be  ready  to  produce  his  credentials  to  that  Presby- 
tery, .  .  .  and  obtain  their  approbation."  It  is  of  course 
advisable  that  as  soon  as  possible  the  church  or  mission- 
field  and  the  Missionary  should  belong  to  the  same  Pres- 
bytery, if  he  intend  to  labor  there  any  length  of  time. 
He  cannot  be  settled  over  a  church  while  belonging  to 
another  Presbytery. § 

May  the  General  Assembly  send  missions  ? 

The  application  for  assistance  may  be  made  "to  any 
other  Presbytery,  or  to  any  Synod,  or  to  the  General  As- 
sembly." Further,  the  General  Assembly,  having  supreme 
authority  over  the  whole  Church,  without  any  application 

*  See  p.  332.  f  Ass^embly's  Digest,  p.  322. 

X  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  517.    See  p.  204.  ^  See  pp.  176,  180. 


384  OF  MrssroNs. 

"may  of  their  own  knowledge  send  missions  to  any  part  to 
plant  churehes  or  to  supply  vacancies^'  But  the  rights  of 
the  Presbytery  must  be  respected ;  to  it  belongs  the  pre- 
rogative of  examining  and  ordaining,  judging  of  the  qual- 
ifications of  its  members,  and  of  directing  the  work  within 
its  own  bounds,  subject,  of  course,  to  review.*  The  selec- 
tion of  men  and  the  judging  of  their  qualifications  belong 
to  Presbytery.  The  General  Assembly  may  call  for  men, 
and  "may  direct  any  Presbytery  to  ordain  Evangelists,  or 
Ministers  without  relation  to  particular  churclie,^^  f 

May  Ministers  be  sent  without  their  consent  ? 

"Provided  always  that  such  missions  he  made  with  the 
consent  of  the  parties  appointed."  In  1759  the  Synod 
appointed  certain  Pastors  to  go  into  Virginia,  and  con- 
duct services  there  from  a  set  day,  and  to  remain  ''for 
some  time,  according  to  the  order  of  that  Presbytery." 
And  the  Presbyteries  of  Philadelphia  and  New  Bruns- 
wick were  ordered  "to  take  care  that  these  gentlemen  ful- 
fill this  appointment,  and  neither  prescribe  nor  allow  them 
employment  in  our  bounds,  so  as  to  disappoint  this  our 
good  intention."  These  Ministers  were  further  charged 
"  that  they  fulfill  said  appointments,  on  pain  of  the 
Synod's  censure."  | 

Who  may  be  sent  as  Missionaries  ? 

(1)  Pastors  or  other  Ministers  who  are  temporarily 
withdrawn  from  their  charges  or  other  work,  and  sent 
on  tours  of  longer  or  shorter  duration.  And  (2)  Evan- 
gelists— Ministers  ordained  "to  preach  the  gospel,  etc. 
in  frontier  or  destitute  settlements;"  in  other  words,  for 
this  special  work,  to  be  engaged  therein  permanently  un- 
der the  direction  of  the  Assembly  and  Presbytery.f 

*  See  pp.  195,  199,  204.  f  See  p.  356. 

X  Anaembly's  Digest,  p.  328. 


home  missions.  385 

Board  of  Home  Missions. 

How  early  did  our  Churcli  take  action  on  missions  ? 

At  the  first  meeting  of  which  the  records  remain,  in 
1707,  the  General  Presbytery  adopted  the  following  reso- 
lution: "That  every  Minister  of  the  Presbytery  supply 
neighboring  desolate  places  where  a  Minister  is  wanting 
and  opportunity  of  doing  good  oiFers."*  At  the  first 
meeting  of  the  Synod  of  Philadelphia  it  was  resolved 
that  it  be  "  proposed  to  the  several  members  of  the 
Synod  to  contribute  something  to  the  raising  a  fund  for 
pious  uses,  and  that  they  use  their  interest  with  their 
friends  on  proper  occasions  to  contribute  something  to 
the  same  purpose ;  and  that  there  be  chosen  a  Treasurer 
to  keep  what  shall  be  collected,  and  that  what  is  or  may 
be  gathered  be  disposed  of  according  to  the  discretion 
of  the  Synod."  Mr.  Jedidiah  Andrews  was  appointed. 
The  next  day  the  collection  "  was  weighed  and  delivered 
into  his  hands,"  "  the  just  sum  of  eighteen  pounds  one 
shilling  and  sixpence,  for  which  he  obliges  himself,  his 
heirs,  executors  and  administrators,  to  be  accountable  to 
the  Synod."  f  "  This  was  the  first  fund  for  benevolent 
purposes  created  by  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  this 
country."  Appeals  for  aid  were  sent  to  England,  Scot- 
land and  Ireland,  and  some  additions  were  thus  obtained 
to  the  fund  of  the  Synod.  The  first  appropriation  from 
this  fund  was  made  by  the  Synod  "  to  the  Presbyterian 
congregation  of  New  York,  toward  the  support  of  the 
gos})el  among  them."  It  was  further  ordered  that  every 
Minister  belonging  to  this  Synod  receive  a  letter  "rec- 
ommending a  yearly  collection  to  be  gathered  in  every 

*  Records  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  p.  10. 
t  Thid.,  pp.  49,  50 ;  Assembly's  Digest,  p.  323. 
33  Z 


386  OF   MISSIONS. 

particular  -congregation  for  pious  uses,  to  be  sent  yearly 
to  the  Synod  by  their  Minister  or  Elder."  In  17.38  "it 
was  unanimously  agreed  by  all  the  members  of  Synod 
that  every  Minister  shall  either"  take  up  such  annual 
collection,  "or  oblige  themselves  to  pay  out  of  their  own 
proper  estates  ten  shillings  to  the  fund."*  The  first 
itinerant  Missionaries,  three  in  number,  were  appointed 
in  1722.t 

What  is  an  itinerant  Missionary  ? 

He  is  one  appointed  to  travel  over  a  certain  district, 
preaching  in  destitute  places.  At  first  these  were  ap- 
pointed for  temporary  work,  to  make  a  single  tour,  some- 
times merely  for  three  months,  but  generally  until  the 
next  meeting  of  the  judicatory.  A  special  route  was 
designated  by  the  court,  which  the  Missionary  was  re- 
quired to  pursue.  He  was  not  expected  to  preach  to  es- 
tablished congregations.^  He  was  required  to  preach,  to 
"  form  societies,  help  them  in  adjusting  their  bounds,  ordain 
Elders,  administer  sealing  ordinances,  instruct  the  people 
in  discipline,  and  finally  direct  them  in  their  after  con- 
duct, particularly  in  what  manner  they  shall  proceed  to 
obtain  a  stated  ministry,  and  whatever  else  may  appear 
useful  or  necessary  for  those  churches."  §  Often  he  was 
required  to  establish  regular  mission-stations,  and  visit 
them  at  regular  times  until  developed  into  organized 
churches.  In  the  O.  S.  Church  in  1839  and  1844  all 
Pastors  were  urged  to  make  animally  a  missionary  tour 
of  this  character.il  In  the  N.  S.  body,  in  1852,  "each 
Presbytery,  whose  circumstances  as  to  territory,  churches 

*  Records  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  pp.  56,  57,  136. 

t  Ibid.,  p.  74 ;  Assembly's  Digest,  p.  326. 

X  Assembly's  Dii/eJtl,  p.  346 ;  New  Digest,  p.  320. 

§  Assembly's  Digest,  pp.  328,  345 ;  New  Digest,  pp.  320,  324. 

II  Assembly's  Digest,  p.  358. 


HOME   MISSIONS.  387 

and  members  demand  it,  is  recommended  to  appoint  an 
[tinerant  Missionary  within  its  bounds,"  and  each  Synod 
"  to  appoint  such  a  Missionary,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to 
act  as  a  traveling  Evangelist,  after  the  scriptural  pattern, 
to  explore  destitute  fields,  to  prepare  the  way  for  the 
formation  of  new  churches  by  the  Presbyteries,  to  seek 
for  Ministers  to  take  charge  of  them,  to  assist  and  direct 
in  building  houses  of  worship  in  destitute  places."  * 

What  was  the  origin  of  the  Boards  ? 

At  the  first  meeting  of  the  General  Assembly,  in 
1789,  the  importance  of  missions  was  recognized,  and 
each  Synod  was  requested  to  recommend  at  the  next 
meeting  "two  members  well  qualified  to  be  employed  in 
missions  on  our  frontier;"  and  the  Presbyteries  were  en- 
joined "to  have  collections  made  during  the  present  year 
in  the  several  congregations  under  our  care."  The  next 
year  a  committee  of  five  was  appointed  "to  prepare  cer- 
tain directions  necessary  for  the  Missionaries  of  the  As- 
sembly in  fulfilling  the  design  of  their  mission,  and  to 
specify  the  compensation  that  it  will  be  proper  to  make 
them  for  their  services."  They  reported  the  next  day, 
and  two  Missionaries  were  appointed  to  labor  for  at  least 
three  months  in  the  frontier  settlements  of  New  York 
and  Pennsylvania,  and  salaries  were  voted  for  them. 
This  committee  became  one  of  the  standing  committees 
of  the  General  Assembly.  In  1799  a  report  was  adopt- 
ed on  the  method  of  managing  missions,  recommending 
(1)  that  the  missions  should  be  conducted  by  men  really 
qii  .lified,  who  shall  preach  the  doctrines  of  grace,  organ- 
ize churches,  catechise  from  house  to  house;  (2)  they 
should  "  be  well  acquainted  with  the  forms  of  govern- 
ment, as  well  of  the  Congregational  as  of  the  Presbyte- 
*  New  Digest,  p.  364. 


388  OF    MISSIONS. 

riau  Churdi ;"  (3)  it  is  important  that  one  or  more  persons 
of  suitable  qualifications  be  appointed  "  to  be  a  common 
medium  of  information,  and  for  aiding  and  directing 
such  Missionaries  as  may  be  annually  sent  out  by  the 
General  Assembly;"  (4)  that  the  Missionaries  go  two 
and  two,  and  their  routes  be  prescribed  by  General  As- 
sembly; (5)  that  the  "Confession  of  Faith"  and  "Sys- 
tem of  Discipline"  of  this  Church  be  distributed  by  the 
Missionaries.*  In  1800  four  Boards  were  anticipated: 
(1)  Gospelizing  the  Indians;  (2)  instructing  the  negroes; 
(3)  distributing  Bibles,  books  and  tracts ;  (4)  educating 
young  men  for  the  ministry .f  In  1802  the  Assembly 
created  a  Standing  Committee  of  INIissious — four  Minis- 
ters and  three  Elders.  Its  duties  were  to  obtain  infor- 
mation, to  nominate  Missionaries,  direct  them  to  places 
and  in  their  work,  to  correspond,  obtain  reports,  inquire 
concerning  funds,  to  select  a  Minister  to  preach  the  an- 
nual missionary  sermon  before  the  Assembly,  and  to  su- 
perintend the  missionary  business  under  the  direction  of 
the  General  Assembly.  This  committee  were  empow- 
ered to  call  upon  the  Trustees  of  the  General  Assembly, 
during  its  recess,  for  moneys  needed.  In  1805  this 
Standing  Committee  of  Missions  was  increased  to  seven- 
teen, of  which  ten  resided  in  or  near  Philadelphia,  and 
one  other  member  from  each  Synod.  In  1816  the  com- 
mittee was  enlarged,  and  its  title  changed  to  "the  Board 
of  Missions,  acting  under  the  authority  of  the  General  As- 
sembly of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States."  X 

What  is  tlie  difference  between  a  Standing  Committee 
and  a  Permanent  Committee? 

The  standing  committees  are  appointed  at  the  opening 

*  Assembly's  Di<jesi,  pp.  341-349.  f  Ibid.,  p.  312. 

I  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  422,  423. 


HOME    MISSIONS.  389 

of  each  Assembly,  and  continue  until  they  report  and 
are  discharged  by  that  body.  The  permanent  commit- 
tees are  those  outside  of  the  Assembly,  and  are  not  dis- 
solved by  its  adjournment.*  This  distinction  was  made 
by  the  N.  S.  Church,  and  the  permanent  committees  had 
the  oversight  of  the  benevolent  work  of  the  Church,  as 
the  Boards  had  in  the  O.  S.  body,  but  were  more  directly 
dependent  on  the  Assembly  than  the  Boards.  Before  the 
division,  however,  the  term  "Standing  Committees"  was 
not  so  strictly  defined.  The  Standing  Committee  on  Mis- 
sions was  in  1802  required  to  be  appointed  yearly,  yet 
had  something  of  the  character  of  a  Permanent  Com- 
mittee, in  that  it  performed  its  work  throughout  the  year 
and  until  the  adjournment  of  the  next  Assembly.f 

What  is  the  difference  between  a  Standing  or  Permanent 
Committee  and  a  Board  ? 

A  committee,  standing  or  permanent,  is  "bound  in 
all  cases  to  act  according  to  the  instructions  of  the  As- 
sembly, and  is  under  the  necessity  of  receiving  its  sanc- 
tion to  all  the  measures  which  it  may  propose."  A 
Board  has  "full  powers  to  transact  all  the  business 
of  the  missionary  cause,  only  requiring  the  Board  to 
report  annually  to  the  General  Assembly."  It  can 
carry  on  its  work  with  \ngor  and  unity  of  design,  and 
enjoy  the  benefit  of  the  advice  and  counsel  of  the  As- 
sembly. | 

What  powers  were  granted  to  the  Board  of  Missions  ? 

In  addition  to  the  powers  already  granted  to  the  Com- 
mittee of  Missions,  the  Board  was  authorized  to  appoint 
Missionaries,  to  pay  moneys  to  them,  and  to  establish 
auxiliary  missionary  societies  throughout  our  churches. 

*  New  Digest,  p.  361.  f  Assembly's  Digest,  p.  350. 

t  Ibid.,  p.  353. 
33* 


390  OF   MISSIONS. 

It  was  thought  best  that  the  Board  should  confine  its 
work  to  domestic  missions,  lest  the  pressure  of  business 
become  too  severe.  But  the  Board  had  "  the  power  to 
establish  missions  not  only  among  the  destitute  in  our 
own  country  or  any  other  country,  but  also  among  the 
heathen  in  any  part  of  the  world,"  and  to  take  charge 
of  such  missions.  It  had  power  also  to  appoint  an  Ex- 
ecutive Committee  and  agents.  In  1828  the  Board  was 
increased  to  twenty-six  Ministers  and  fifteen  Elders.* 

What  further  changes  were  made  ? 

In  1830  an  effort  was  made  to  conduct  the  missionary 
operations  in  the  West  through  a  common  Board  of 
Agency,  appointed  by  the  Board  of  Missions  of  the 
General  Assembly  and  the  American  Home  Missionary 
Society.  This  failed  after  considerable  discussion.  The 
idea,  however,  was  not  given  up,  and  until  the  division 
of  the  Church  in  1838  several  efforts  were  made  to  effect 
a  union  between  tliese  bodies  or  to  discontinue  the  Board 
of  Missions.  The  Presbyteries  carried  on  their  mission- 
ary operations  through  our  Board  or  through  the  Amer- 
ican Home  Missionary  Society.  The  New  School  Pres- 
byteries and  churches  co-operated  with  the  latter,  and  the 
Old  School  with  the  former.  After  the  division  the  N.  S. 
Assembly  continued  to  do  so  until  1861,  when  the  Pres- 
byterian Committee  of  Home  Missions  was  formed.f 

What  is  the  American  Home  Missionary  Society  ? 

Prior  to  1822  various  local  domestic  missionary  socie- 
ties were  formed.  Many  of  these  sent  their  missionaries 
even  to  the  far  West  and  South.  In  May  of  that  year 
delegates  of  ten  of  these  local  societies  in  New  York 
State,  belonging  to  the  Presbyterian  and  the  Dutch  Re- 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  423,  424. 

f  Assembly's  Digest,  p.  356;  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  424-426. 


HOME    MISSIONS.  391 

formed  churches,  were  consolidated,  forming  the  "United 
Domestic  Missionary  Society  of  New  York."  It  was  not  a 
denominational  institution.  In  1826  it  had  127  Mission- 
aries, 100  of  whom  labored  in  New  York,  and  27  in  ten 
other  States.  In  1825  a  circular  was  published  by  its 
Executive  Committee,  at  the  request  of  a  meeting  of 
Ministers  held  in  Boston,  calling  a  meeting  of  Congre- 
gational, Presbyterian  and  Dutch  Reformed  churches,  to 
be  held  in  the  Brick  Presbyterian  Church,  New  York,  to 
form  a  National  Domestic  Missionary  Society.  Drs.  Alex- 
ander and  Miller  of  the  Princeton  Seminary  endorsed  the 
plan.  A  constitution  was  adopted,  and  the  "  United  Do- 
mestic Missionary  Society  "  was  requested  to  become  the 
"  American  Home  Missionary  Society  "  by  accepting  this 
constitution  and  changing  its  name.  This  was  done  May 
12,  1826.  One  of  the  preliminary  principles  was,  "  that 
existing  missionary  societies  were  neither  to  be  superseded, 
except  in  accordance  with  their  own  desire,  nor  impeded 
in  their  operations,  but  rather  to  be  strengthened  and 
stimulated."*  For  a  time  this  society  and  our  Board 
of  Missions t  worked  together  harmoniously;  but  for 
some  time  before  1837  there  was  in  many  a  "  deep  con- 
viction that  the  Home  Missionary  Society,  under  the 
management  of  its  Secretary,  had  become  a  great  party 
engine,  operating  most  unfavorably  for  the  peace,  union 
and  purity  of  the  Church."  J 

What  was  "the  Standing  Committee  on  Churcli  Exten- 
sion"? 

In  1849  the  N.  S.  Assembly,  while  co-operating  with 
the  American  Home  Missionary  Society,  felt  called  upon 
to  take  charge  of  that  part  of  the  work  which  the  socie- 

*  Home  Missionary,  vol.  xxxiii.,  pp.  157-166.  f  See  p.  390. 

X  Church  Polity,  pp.  417-435. 


392  OF   MISSIONS. 

ty  could  not  perform.  Presbyteries  were  admonished  to 
secure  supplies  for  all  their  feeble  churches,  and  to  gather 
new  congregations  by  permanent  missionary  agents.  Sab- 
bath-school work  was  urged,  and  the  building  of  new 
churches  with  aid  secured  in  their  vicinity,  or  in  more 
distant  places  when  furnished  with  testimonials  from 
their  Synods.  The  next  year  Presbyteries  were  recom- 
mended to  take  such  action  within  their  own  bounds  that 
new  churches  may  be  organized,  if  necessary,  by  aid  from 
the  Home  Missionary  Society,  and  that  destitute  churches 
be  supplied  with  regular  preaching.  The  older  and  wealth- 
ier churches  were  expected  to  help  the  weaker.  In  1852, 
on  report  of  a  committee  appointed  the  previous  year, 
the  American  Home  Missionary  Society  was  recom- 
mended as  the  agency  through  which,  as  heretofore,  the 
work  of  domestic  missions  shall  be  done ;  but  each  Pres- 
bytery was  directed  each  year  to  elect  a  Standing  Commit- 
tee on  Church  Extension.  Collections  from  the  churches 
shall  be  sent  to  the  Home  Missionary  Society.  Applica- 
tions for  aid  must  have  the  recommendation  of  Presbytery, 
but  "  shall  not  require  the  official  sanction  of  any  agent 
of  that  society."  The  society,  however,  shall  have  the 
right  to  obtain  information,  and  have  discretion  to  grant 
in  whole  or  in  part  the  application.  The  Presbyteries 
shall  appoint  itinerant  Missionaries  to  explore  destitute 
fields,  gather  new  congregations,  seek  for  Ministers  to 
take  charge  of  them,  direct  in  building  churches,  and  in 
all  ways  promote  church  extension,  under  presbyterial  or 
synodical  committees.  Each  Synod  shall  have  a  Church 
Extension  Committee,  yearly  appointed,  and  shall  require 
an  annual  collection  from  its  churches  to  assist,  by  loan 
or  gift,  feeble  churches  to  build  houses.  Among  the 
other  Standing  Committees  of   the  Assembly,  one  on 


HOME    MISSIONS.  393 

Church  Extension  shall  be  yearly  appointed,  which  shall 
condense  the  reports  from  the  Synods  and  Presbyteries 
on  this  subject,  and  present  further  propositions  for  car- 
rying on  the  work.  A  committee  of  five  was  appointed 
to  confer  with  the  "American  Home  Missionary  Society," 
requesting  its  co-operation  in  this  plan  as  far  as  its  princi- 
ples would  admit.  In  1853  this  committee  of  conference 
reported  that  the  society  had  no  disposition  to  interfere 
with  the  ecclesiastical  functions  of  Synods  and  Presbyte- 
ries, or  with  the  relations  of  the  churches,  or  to  make 
discriminations  in  favor  of  one  denomination  and  against 
another.  Confidence  was  expressed  by  the  Assembly  that 
our  home  missionary  work  could  be  more  successfully  pros- 
ecuted under  the  present  arrangements  with  that  society 
than  by  any  new  organization.  At  the  same  time  the 
Assembly  was  satisfied  that  the  rules  of  the  society  some- 
times prevented  the  extension  of  the  Church  in  the  West, 
and  where  aid  should  be  granted.* 

What  was  "the  Church  Extension  Committee"? 

In  1855  the  attention  of  the  Assembly  was  directed 
to  those  cases  of  home  work  which  are  excluded  by  the 
rules  of  the  Home  Missionary  Society,  as  the  employ- 
ment of  synodical,  presbyterial  or  exploring  Presbyterian 
Missionaries,  the  planting  of  Presbyterian  churches  in 
advance  of  all  othere,  and  the  founding  of  churches  in 
cities  and  large  villages.  The  Assembly,  while  operating 
through  the  society  for  some  purposes,  did  not  give  to  it 
a  right  to  control  the  whole  subject  of  Church  Extension, 
nor  could  it  part  with  its  own  responsibility.  It  there- 
fore established  a  committee  to  be  called  "the  Church 
Extension  Committee,"  to  be  located  in  Philadelphia, 
having  no  functions  except  those  expressly  assigned  to 

*  Ne%v  Digest,  pp.  361-367. 


394  OF   MISSIONS. 

it.  Those  first  given  were — "employing  presbyterial, 
synodical  and  other  Presbyterian  itinerant  or  exploring 
agents,  and  affording  aid  in  such  exceptional  cases  as 
those  already  mentioned,  and  also  the  receiving  and  dis- 
bursing funds  for  these  objects."  It  was  not  intended  to 
establish  an  ecclesiastical  Board  or  to  interfere  with  the 
Home  Missionary  Society.  The  co-operative  policy  of 
the  Church  in  home  missions  was  unchanged.  This 
committee  was  to  be  supplementary,  to  attend  to  cases 
which  the  rules  of  the  society  excluded.  In  ]  857  more 
discretion  was  granted  to  the  committee  in  relation  to 
applications  which  required  prompt  action.  In  1859  its 
powers  were  again  enlarged,  to  provide  for  churches  that 
could  not  be  aided  from  other  sources.* 

What  was  "the  Presbyterian  Committee  of  Home  Mis- 
sions "  ? 

It  was  organized  by  the  N.  S.  Assembly  in  1861,  and 
incor]>orated  the  next  year.  It  was  composed  of  fifteen 
members  chosen  by  the  Assembly.  Its  object  was  "  to 
assist  in  sustaining  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  in  feeble 
churches  and  congregations  in  connection  with  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  in  the  United  States,  and  generally  to 
superintend  the  whole  course  of  home  missions  in  behalf 
of  said  Church,  as  its  General  Assembly  may  from  time 
to  time  direct;  also  to  receive,  take  charge  of  and  disburse 
any  property  or  funds  which  at  any  time  and  from  time 
to  time  may  be  entrusted  to  said  Church  or  said  com- 
mittee for  home  missionary  purposes."  This  continued 
its  work  until  187 l.f 

What  was  "  the  Western  Committee  of  Missions  "  ? 

In  1 845  the  O.  S.  Assembly,  in  order  to  prosecute  its 

*  New  Digest,  pp.  367-375. 

t  Minutes  (N.  S.)  G.  A.  1861,  pp.  466-469;  Presbyterian  Digest,  p. 
425.     See  p.  396. 


HOME    MISSIONS.  395 

missions  in  the  West  with  more  vigor,  decided  that  the 
Board  of  Missions  should  appoint  a  committee,  to  be 
called  "  the  Western  Committee  of  Missions,"  to  be  lo- 
cated at  Louisville,  Ky.,  to  have  similar  powers  with  that 
located  in  Philadelphia,  making  monthly  reports  to  the 
Board.  It  had  a  Secretary  and  General  Agent  and  Treas- 
urer,*    This  was  continued  until  1862.t 

What  was  "the  South-western  Advisory  Committee"? 

In  1859  the  O.  S.  Assembly  ordered  the  Board  of 
Missions  to  establish  in  the  city  of  New  Orleans  an 
Advisory  Committee,  with  a  District  Secretary,  "to  set 
forward  the  work  of  missions  in  the  South-west,  the 
details  to  be  arranged  by  conference  between  the  Board 
and  the  said  committee."  "The  Board  was  also  em- 
powered to  make  a  similar  arrangement  at  the  North- 
west." This  Advisory  Committee  was  located  at  San 
Francisco.  Both  these  committees  were  discontinued 
by  order  of  the  Assembly  in  1862,  and  the  Board  of 
Missions  was  directed  "hereafter  to  conduct  through- 
out the  entire  field  its  work,  as  formerly,  through  the 
Presbyteries."  | 

What  was  "  the  Board  of  Domestic  Missions "  ? 

This  was  the  same  as  the  Board  of  Missions.  In  1857 
the  General  Assembly  approved  the  action  of  the  Board 
in  obtaining  from  the  Legislature  of  Pennsylvania  a 
change  in  its  corporate  title — viz.,  the  introduction  of 
the  word  "Domestic" — to  prevent  inconvenience  and  loss 
which  was  occasioned  by  the  frequent  confounding  tlie 
Board  of  Missions  and  that  of  Foreign  Missions.  § 

*  Asuembly's  Digest,  p.  355. 

t  Minutes  G.  A.  {0.  S.),  1862,  p.  602. 

t  Ibid.,  1859,  p.  530 ;  1860,  p.  55 ;  1862,  p.  602. 

2  Ibid.,  1857,  pp.  19,  75. 


396  OF    MISSIONS. 

What  was  "the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Home  Missions"? 

After  the  reunion  of  the  two  branches  (O.  S.  and  N.  S.) 
of  the  Church  in  1869,  the  Presbyterian  Committee  of 
Home  Missions  obtained  an  act  from  the  New  York 
Legislature  authorizing  the  substitution  of  "  Board  "  for 
"  Committee  "  in  its  title.  This  was  passed  January  20, 
1871.* 

What  is  "  the  Board  of  Home  Missions  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian Church  in  the  United  States  of  America"? 

In  1869  it  was  agreed  that  the  Board  of  Domestic 
Missions  and  the  Committee  of  Home  Missions  should 
continue  in  operation  until  proper  legal  steps  could  be 
taken  to  consolidate  them  without  risking  the  property 
and  funds  belonging  to  them.  This  was  accomplished 
in  1872,  and  the  new  Board  received  the  title,  "  The 
Board  of  Home  Missions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
in  the  United  States  of  America,"  and  obtained  a  char- 
ter from  the  State  of  New  York.  The  Board  of  Domestic 
Missions  was  continued  until  1873,  when  by  an  act  of  the 
State  of  Pennsylvania  its  property  was  transferred  to  the 
new  Board,  which  was  declared  to  be  the  legal  successor 
of  both.f 

How  are  applications  for  aid  to  be  made  to  the  Board  ? 

The  Missionary  and  his  field  of  labor  must  be  in  con- 
nection with  the  General  Assembly.  The  application 
should  state  (1)  name  of  church  and  Minister;  (2)  num- 
ber of  conuiiunicants  and  size  of  congregation;  (3)  how 
near  are  other  churches,  and  of  what  size;  (4)  popula- 
tion and  character  of  the  place ;  (5)  the  ability  and 
promises  of  the  congregation ;  and  (6)  the  smallest  sum 
really  needed.  The  application  must  be  signed  by  the 
Elders,  Deacons  and  Trustees,  and  sent  to  the  Presby- 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  428.  t  Ibid.,  pp.  427-430. 


HOME   MISSIONS.  397 

K^ry  for  its  ipproval.  The  Presbytery  shall  vote  on  it 
by  ballot,  l)oth  as  to  the  application  and  as  to  the  amount, 
and  forward  it  to  the  Board.*  The  congregation  is  ex- 
pected to  fulfill  its  pledges  to  the  Missionary,  and  to  take 
up  a  collection  for  the  Board.  The  appropriations  granted 
are  only  for  a  year,  but  may  be  renewed  on  application 
again  through  the  Presbytery.f 

Is  the  Board  bound  to  grant  every  application  ? 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  Presbytery  carefully  to  examine 
the  necessity  of  tiie  aid  applied  for ;  and  to  it  belongs 
the  respopsibility  of  the  question.  Ought  the  church  to 
receive  aid,  and  to  what  amount  ?  This  cannot  be  done 
by  the  Board.  A  different  question  must  be  answered 
when  the  application  comes  before  it,  viz. :  Can  the  ap- 
propriation be  granted?  This  must  be  determined  by 
the  amount  of  funds  entrusted  to  the  care  of  the  Board, 
and  by  the  relative  importance  of  other  applications  com- 
ing from  the  entire  field.  It  may,  because  of  want  of 
funds,  reject  it  or  grant  only  part  of  the  desired  appro- 
priation.! The  Presbytery  sometimes  feels  that  it  has 
a  right  to  make  applications  to  the  amount  M^hich  it  has 
contributed  to  the  Board.  But  this  is  not  the  principle 
upon  which  the  Board  was  established.  The  churches 
contribute  to  the  general  work  of  home  missions,  and 
the  Board  entrusted  with  these  funds  must  consider  the 
whole  field  in  judging  of  its  ability  to  make  an  appro- 
priation.    Appendix,  p.  539. 

What  is  the  relation  of  the  Board  to  the  Presbytery  in 
regard  to  missions  ? 

"  The  Board  of  Missions  is  an  ecclesiastical  organiza- 
tion, and  operates  through  the  Presbyteries;  its  success, 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  427.  f  See  Bules  of  the  BouixL 

X  Church  Polity,  p.  443. 
34 


398  OF   MISSIONS. 

therefore,  must  depend  essentially  on  the  co-operation  of 
the  Presbyteries  and  the  efficiency  of  their  aid."  "  The 
success  of  the  Board  in  obtaining  suitable  Missionaries 
for  distant  places  must  depend  essentially  on  the  official 
information  they  are  enabled  to  give  to  those  who  apply 
for  commissions."*  The  Missionary  is  responsible  to 
the  Presbytery,  which  has  also  full  control  over  his 
church  or  field  of  labor.f  The  Missionary  must  send, 
however,  regular  reports  to  the  Board  while  commis- 
sioned by  it.  "  When  aid-receiving  churches  become 
vacant,  they  are  usually  cut  off  from  home  missionary 
aid  until  they  shall  have  found  an  acceptable  Minister 
ready  to  be  commissioned."  It  is  then  the  duty  of  the 
Presbytery,  through  its  committee,  "  to  endeavor  in  its 
own  way  to  nourish  and  sustain  these  churches  until 
they  are  advanced  to  a  condition  in  which  they  can  be 
assisted  by  the  Board  of  Home  Missions."  J  In  1880  the 
Assembly  received  overtures  from  one  Synod  and  seven- 
teen Presbyteries  asking  that  a  committee  consider  the 
modes  of  operation  of  this  Board  in  its  relation  to  the 
Presbyteries.  The  committee  reported  the  next  year  in 
part.§     Appendix,  p.  539. 

What  is  the  Sustentation  Department  of  the  Board  ? 

(See  p.  465.) 

What  is  "the  Women's  Executive  Committee  of  Home 
Missions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church"? 

"  The  work  of  Christian  women  in  behalf  of  home 
missions  dates  as  far  back  as  the  beginning  of  home 
missions  in  this  country."  It  was  carried  on  chiefly  in 
prayer  and  in  the  preparation  of  boxes  for  the  Mission- 
aries.    After  the  reunion  there  was  an  increased  activity 

*  Assembly's  Digest,  p.  361.  f  See  p.  383. 

I  Presbyterian  Diged,  p.  17G.  §  Minutes  G.  A.  18S1,  p.  529 


HOME    MISSIONS.  399 

on  the  part  of  the  women,  and  they  were  invited  by  the 
Board  to  make  organized  efforts  to  collect  money  for  the 
Board.  A  deep  interest  was  excited  also  in  the  condi- 
tion of  women  in  heathen  lands,  who  were  in  great  deg- 
radation and  inaccessible  to  our  Missionaries.  In  some 
places  in  our  own  country,  as  in  Utah,  New  Mexico  and 
Arizona,  their  condition  was  much  the  same,  and  they 
were  perhaps  quite  as  isolated.  This  great  need  for 
"  women's  work  for  women  "  led  to  the  organization  of 
women's  missionary  societies  and  women's  boards  for 
missions,  their  object  being  to  collect  funds  and  to  send 
out  women  to  labor  among  their  sisters  at  home  and 
abroad.  Some  have  embraced  both  the  home  and  for- 
eign field ;  others  have  charge  either  of  the  home  or 
the  foreign  work.  These  are  all  more  or  less  connected 
with  the  Boards  of  the  Church,  and  some  have  commit- 
tees or  branch  societies  in  the  Synods,  Presbyteries  and 
churches.  In  1878  a  convention  of  women  was  held  in 
Pittsburg  during  the  session  of  the  General  Assembly  in 
regard  to  some  more  complete  organization  for  home 
missions.  It  led  to  a  conference  with  the  Ladies'  Board 
of  Missions  in  New  York  ''as  to  their  willingness  to  de- 
vote themselves  exclusively  to  home  missions,  thereby 
becoming  the  '  Woman's  Home  Missionary  Society  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church.'"  This  failed,  and  the  "Woman's 
Executive  Committee  of  Home  Missions  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church"  was  organized.  Its  office  is  in  New 
York.*  There  are  in  1881  five  women's  societies  aux- 
iliary to  the  Board.  Of  these,  the  "Woman's  Executive 
Committee  of  Home  Missions  "  is  the  largest.  In  twenty- 
seven  Synods  it  has  committees  of  women  ratified  by 
the  Synods.  The  Executive  Committee  is  formed  of 
*  Minutes  G.  A.  1874,  P-  41  ;  1877,  p.  633;  1879,  pp.  572,  594,  678. 


400  OF   MISSIONS. 

two  members  of  each  synodical  committee.  Their  col- 
lections during  the  year  amount  to  $27,793,  and  mis- 
sionary-boxes valued  at  about  $17,000.* 

Board  of  Education. 

What  were  the  early  measures  of  the  Church  to  educate 
young  men  for  the  ministry  ? 

The  General  Synod  in  1733  granted  an  appropriation 
from  its  "fund  for  pious  uses"  to  a  student.  In  1739 
an  overture  was  approved  for  the  erection  of  a  school  or 
seminary  of  learning  by  the  Synod.  A  commission  was 
appointed  to  accomplish  it,  which  adopted  a  plan,  applied 
to  the  churches  for  aid  and  drew  up  an  appeal  also  to  the 
General  Assembly  of  the  Church  of  Scotland.  The  war 
between  Engkind  and  Sjiain  caused  "  the  whole  affair  to 
be  laid  aside  for  that  time."  In  1743  the  Presbyteries 
of  Philadelphia,  New  Castle  and  Donegal  agreed  to  open 
a  school  for  the  education  of  youth,  and  the  Synod  at  its 
next  meeting  (1744)  approved  of  this  action  and  took  the 
school  under  its  care.  The  object  to  be  accomplished  was 
to  give  free  instruction  in  the  languages,  philosophy  and 
divinity.  The  school  was  placed  under  the  charge  of  Rev. 
Francis  Alison,  who  was  allowed  an  usher,  and  was  to 
be  supported  by  yearly  contributions  from  the  churches. 
For  a  few  years  (1757-62)  the  scliool  received  annually 
a  sum  from  "the  Trustees  General  of  the  society's  sehooh 
for  the  instruction  of  poor  Germans,  etc.  in  Pennsylvania, 
etc.,"  on  condition  "tliatthe  master  shall  teach  four  Dutch 
or  English  (young  men)  gratis,  upon  the  recommendation  of 
the  Trustees  General,  to  be  prepared  for  the  ministry,  and 
ten  poor  Dutch  children  in  the  English  tongue,  gratis."  f 

*  Minutes  O.  A.  1881,  p.  531. 

t  Records  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  pp.  100,  149,  151,  175,  22S 
See  p.  311. 


EDUCATION.  401 

When  was  the  College  of  New  Jersey  fomided  ? 

In  1746,  at  Elizabethtown,  by  the  Synod  of  New  York. 
It  was  the  fourth  college  established  in  the  country  (Har- 
vard University  in  1636,  William  and  Mary  College  in 
1692,  and  Yale  in  1700).  It  was  removed  to  Princeton 
in  1757.*  In  1752  the  Synod  ordered  collections  to  be 
taken  in  the  churches  for  the  college,  and  the  next  year 
Revs.  G.  Tennent  and  S.  Davies  were  sent  to  Europe  to 
solicit  aid  for  it.  The  address  sent  to  the  General  As- 
sembly of  the  Church  of  Scotland  stated  that  the  object 
of  the  college  was  to  educate  pious  young  men  for  the 
ministry,  and  thus  enable  the  Church  to  supply  the  in- 
creasing number  of  vacancies  and  the  destitute,  fields  in 
its  bounds.  In  1768  the  United  Synod  of  New  York 
and  Philadelphia  approved  of  the  appointment  of  a 
Professor  of  Theology  in  the  college,  and  made  appro- 
priation from  collections  for  his  support.  There  was 
also  a  fund  in  the  hands  of  the  Trustees,  the  interest 
of  which  was  applied  by  the  Synod  to  aid  poor  and 
pious  students. t  The  General  Assembly  in  1806  de- 
clared "the  College  of  New  Jersey  was  originally 
founded  with  a  particular  view  to  promote  the  interests 
of  religion,  as  well  as  of  learning,  by  training  up  men 
of  piety  and  talents  for  the  ministry  of  the  gospel. 
The  Trustees  of  the  institution  have  ever  been  atten- 
tive to  this  great  object,  and  have  made  most  generous 
provision  for  the  support  of  theological  students.  .  .  . 
All  persons  who  are  actually  engaged  in  the  study 
of  theology  .  .  .  may,  on  producing  proper  testimoni- 
als of  character,  pursue  their  further  studies  here  at  the 

*  American  Cyclopcedia. 

t  Records  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  pp.  248,  252,  256,  379,  399. 
Seep.  311. 

:u  »  2  A 


402  OF    MISSIONS. 

moderate  -  charge  of  one  dollar  a  week  for  board,  aud 
enjoy  the  assistance  of  the  President  and  Professor  of 
Theology  without  any  fee  for  instruction.  This  Pro- 
fessor gives  lectures  to  the  theological  students  twice  a 
week.  .  .  .  His  course  of  lectures  embraces  divinity, 
ecclesiastical  history,  church  government,  Christian  and 
Jewish  antiquities,  and  the  duties  of  the  pastoral  office. 
He  instructs  those  who  desire  it  in  the  Hebrew  lan- 
guage, so  useful  and  almost  indispensable  to  a  good 
divine.  At  every  meeting  one  or  more  of  the  pupils 
submit  to  his  criticisms  and  remarks  an  essay  or  ser- 
mon on  a  subject  previously  assigned."  A  theological 
society  was  held  once  a  week,  and  access  was  granted 
to  a  large  theological  library.*  At  present  (1881)  the 
college  is  under  the  care  of  the  Synod  of  New  Jersey, 
accomplishing  the  same  objects,  but  having  no  theological 
department,  according  to  the  agreement  made  in  1811.t 

What  presbyterial  scheme  for  education  was  approved  ? 

In  1771  the  Presbytery  of  New  Castle  transmitted  to 
the  Synod  a  plan  which  was  approved  by  it,  and  other 
Presbyteries  were  encouraged  to  do  likewise.  The  plan 
was,  that  vacant  churches  in  the  Presbytery  subscribe 
annually  two  pounds,  and  every  Minister  in  the  Pres- 
bytery one  pound,  and  the  fund  be  increased  by  volun- 
tary annual  subscriptions.  Young  men  to  be  aided  must 
be  recommended  by  a  Minister  and  examined  and  ap- 
proved by  Presbytery,  which  shall  direct  his  studies  and 
have  a  right  to  his  services  for  one  year  after  his  ordi- 
nation. If  the  student  be  afterward  not  inclined  to 
enter  the  ministry,  he  must  return  the  money  expended 
upon  him  within  five  years.|     In  1806  the  General  As* 

*  Assembly's  Digest,  ed.  of  1855,  p.  376.  f  See  p.  404. 

X  Records  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  p.  419. 


EDUCATION.  403 

sembly  urged  upon  the  Presbyteries  to  report  each  year 
what  they  were  doing  for  the  selection  of  young  men 
for  the  ministry,  for  their  support,  education  and  train- 
ing, and  reasons  were  demanded  for  neglect  of  this  im- 
portant duty.  Those  Presbyteries  which  did  not  render 
satisfactory  excuses  were  liable  to  be  recorded  as  delin- 
quents in  their  duty  or  censured  by  the  Assembly.* 

When  was  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Princeton  estab- 
Ushed? 

In  1809  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia  sent  an  over- 
ture to  the  General  Assembly  for  the  establishment  of  a 
theological  school.  A  committee  on  the  subject  was  ap- 
pointed. Its  chairman  was  Rev.  Dr.  Dwight,  President 
of  Yale  College,  a  delegate  from  the  General  Association 
of  Connecticut.  It  reported  three  plans  :  (1)  to  establish 
one  great  school  near  the  centre  of  the  bounds  of  our 
Church ;  (2)  two  schools,  one  North  and  the  other  South ; 
and  (3)  one  school  in  each  Synod,  in  which  case  each  Synod 
should  have  the  whole  responsibility  as  to  the  formation 
and  supervision  of  its  scliool.  According  to  the  other 
plans,  the  General  Assembly  should  have  the  control. 
These  were  referred  to  the  Presbyteries,  but  without 
definite  result.  In  1810  the  Assembly  determined  to 
establish  a  seminary  "  for  securing  to  Candidates  for  the 
ministry  more  extensive  and  efficient  theological  instruc- 
tion." The  institution  should  have  three  Professors,  but 
might  begin  with  less.  Its  course  should  embrace  divin- 
ity, Oriental  and  biblical  literature,  ecclesiastical  history 
and  church  government,  and  such  other  subjects  as  might 
be  deemed  necessary.  Efforts  were  to  be  made  to  give 
gratuitous  instruction  and  support  when  necessary.  A 
committee  from  each  Synod  was  appointed  to  solicit  funds. 

*  Assembly's  Digest,  p.  397. 


404  OF   MISSIONS. 

The  Presbyteries  were  left  at  full  liberty  to  send  their  stu- 
dents where  they  pleased  for  instruction,  and  to  license  those 
only  whom  they  approved  on  examination  ;  the  seminary 
to  have  no  such  power.  In  1811  the  Trustees  of  the  Col- 
lege of  New  Jersey  made  an  offer  to  the  General  Assem- 
bly, which  was  accepted  the  next  year.  Its  principal  terms 
were:  (1)  that  the  seminary  shall  be  in  or  near  Princeton, 
and  in  connection  with  the  college ;  (2)  that  the  General 
Assembly  shall  appoint  the  Directors,  choose  Professors 
determine  the  instruction,  govern  the  students  and  man- 
age the  funds,  without  interference  from  the  Trustees  of 
the  college ;  (3)  that  buildings  needed  for  the  seminary  may 
be  erected  on  the  college  grounds  by  the  Assembly,  or  on 
land  purchased  in  or  near  Princeton;  (4)  that  the  use  of 
the  college  buildings  shall  be  granted  as  far  as  practicable 
and  as  long  as  may  be  desired ;  (5)  that  the  college  will 
instruct  at  as  little  expense  as  possible  young  men  sent  to 
it  by  the  Assembly  or  the  Directors  of  the  seminary;  (6) 
the  Trustees  shall  be  ready  to  take  charge  of  funds,  sepa- 
rate from  those  of  the  college,  subject  to  the  order  of  the 
General  Assembly ;  (7)  free  use  of  the  college  library  shall 
be  granted  to  the  Professors  and  students.  This  connec- 
tion between  the  college  and  seminary  was  to  continue 
according  to  the  pleasure  of  the  Assembly,  but  it  was 
agreed  that  "while  the  seminary  shall  remain  in  Prince- 
ton no  professorship  of  theology  shall  be  established  in 
the  college."*  A  missionary  department  was  proposed 
as  early  as  1829.  All  the  seminaries  of  the  Church  are 
alike  in  their  plans  of  instruction  and  government.^ 

What  are  synodical  seminaries  ? 

Each  Presbytery  and  Synod  was  competent  to  adopt  its 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  369-375. 

t  Assembly's  Digest,  p.  440.  J  Ibid.,  pp.  375  -397. 


EDUCATION.  405 

own  plan  for  the  instruction  of  its  Candidates.  This  was 
sanctioned  by  the  General  Assembly.  Those  seminaries 
which  were  under  the  control  of  Synods  were  called  sy- 
nodical  seminaries.  Among  these  were  "the  Union  Sem- 
inary of  the  General  Assembly,  under  the  care  of  the 
Synods  of  Virginia  and  North  Carolina;"  Columbia 
Seminary,  whose  title  was  "the  Theological  Seminary  of 
the  Synods  of  South  Carolina  and  Georgia;"  the  New 
Albany  Seminary,  which  was  under  the  care  of  seven 
Western  Synods  (and  after  its  reorganization  in  1854 
under  three  Synods).  These  had  the  sanction  of  the 
General  Assembly.  The  Seminary  of  the  Synod  of 
Kentucky,  and  the  South-western  Seminary,  under  the 
care  of  the  Synod  of  Tennessee,  were  refused  such  rec- 
ognition.* The  Indiana  Theological  Seminary,  at 
South  Hanover,  afterward  moved  to  New  Albany, 
was  under  the  care  of  several  Synods,t  and  the  San 
Francisco  Seminary  was  organized  by  the  Synod  of  the 
Pacific.| 

What  seminaries  were  under  presbyterial  supervision? 

"The  Seminary  at  Auburn  was  controlled  by  a  Board 
of  Commissioners  elected  by  certain  Presbyteries  in  Cen- 
tral and  Western  New  York,  and  by  a  Board  of  Trustees 
elected  by  commissioners ;"  §  and  the  German  Theological 
School  was  founded  by  the  Presbytery  of  Newark,  and 
the  Biddle  University  at  Charlotte,  North  Carolina.]] 

What  seminaries  were  independent  ? 

"  Lane  Seminary,  at  Cincinnati,  and  Union  Seminary, 
at  New  York,  were  founded  by  individuals,  members  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church."  By  their  charters  they  were 
Presbyterian  institutions,  teaching  our  standards,  but  were 

*  Assembly's  Digest,  pp.  461-171.        f  See  p.  313.         J  See  p.  314. 
^  Presbyter kvn  Digest,  p.  384.  Il  See  pp.  314,  315 


406  OF   MISSIONS. 

not  under  ecclesiastical  control.*  Also  the  German  Theo- 
logical School  of  the  North-west;  and  the  Blackburn 
University,  at  Carlinville,  111.,  M^hich  was  founded  by  the 
Rev.  G.  Blackburn, t 

What  are  fellowships  ? 

There  has  been  a  desire  to  secure  a  high  order  of  cul- 
ture in  biblical  literature.  To  accomplish  this,  in  1876 
"a  Prize  Fellowship  Fund"  was  begun  in  Union  Theo- 
logical Seminary,  and  two  fellowships  more,  of  $10,000 
each,  were  secured,  to  enable  "  students  who  shall  be,  in 
the  judgment  of  the  Faculty,  most  deserving,  to  prosecute 
their  studies  in  this  country  or  in  loreign  countries,  under 
the  direction  of  the  Faculty,  for  the  period  of  two  years 
after  graduatiou."  J  In  the  Princeton  Seminary  in  1880  a 
fellowship  was  secured  yielding  $600  in  quarterly  pay- 
ments. It  is  offered  to  the  member  of  the  graduating 
class  or  to  the  resident  graduate  approved  by  the  Faculty 
who  shall  stand  highest  in  a  special  examination  in  April 
on  Hebrew.  He  will  be  expected  to  spend  at  least  one 
year  in  Old-Testament  study  under  the  direction  of  the 
Faculty,  either  in  Princeton  or  in  some  foreign  univer- 
sity.§  In  1881  the  Assembly  was  "glad  to  notice  that 
in  two  of  our  seminaries  (Princeton  and  Union)  fellow- 
ships are  established,  and  we  commend  the  example  to 
other  seminaries."  || 

What  are  parochial  schools  ? 

In  Scotland  a  statute  was  passed  in  1696  directing  that 
a  school  be  established  in  every  parish.  The  Pastor  was 
entrusted  with  the  superintendence  and  to  appoint  the 
teachers,  and  the   Presbytery  regulated   the  hours  and 

'  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  384.  f  See  p.  314. 

I  Minutes  O.  A.  1876,  p.  116.  g  Ibid.,  1880,  p.  94. 

II  Ibid.,  1881,  p.  577. 


EDUCATION.  407 

vacations,  and  could  animadvert  on  the  incumbent  in 
all  cases  of  just  complaint;  and  its  judgment  was  final. 
When  the  Free  Church  separated  from  the  Established, 
it  also  adopted  a  similar  system  of  parish  schools  under 
the  supervision  of  the  Pastors  and  Presbyteries.  In 
1844  the  O.  S.  Assembly  appointed  a  committee  to  con- 
sider the  expediency  of  establishing  Presbyterian  paro- 
chial schools.  The  report  was  presented  the  next  year, 
earnestly  recommending  their  general  introduction.  In 
1846  the  Assembly  resolved  that  education  which  does 
not  include  instruction  in  the  Scriptures  and  the  doctrines 
of  grace  is  incomplete;  that  it  approves  of  churches  un- 
dertaking schools  under  their  own  direction  ;  and  that 
the  whole  subject  of  parochial  education  be  commended 
to  the  serious  attention  of  the  Church  and  to  the  Board 
of  Education.  In  1847  the  Assembly  expressed  its  con- 
viction "that  the  interests  of  the  Church  ....  demanded 
that  immediate  and  strenuous  exertions  should  be  made, 
so  far  as  practicable,  by  every  congregation,  to  establish 
within  its  bounds  one  or  more  primary  schools  under 
the  care  of  the  Session  of  the  church,  in  which,  together 
with  the  usual  branches  of  secular  learning,  the  truths 
and  duties  of  our  holy  religion  shall  be  assiduously  in- 
culcated." And  Presbyteries  and  Synods  were  urged  to 
"  devise  and  execute  whatever  measures  they  may  deem 
most  appropriate  for  securing  the  establishment  of  paro- 
chial and  presbyterial  schools  in  our  bounds."  The  Board 
of  Education  was  called  upon  to  obtain  information  and 
grant  aid.* 

Wlien  did  the  Board  of  Education  give  up  their  parochial 
schools? 

The  Board  began  at  once,  after  the  above  resolutions 
*  Assembly's  Digest,  pp.  406-410.     Set  p.  4^2, 


408  OF    MISSIONS. 

were  passed  in  1847,  to  organize  and  aid  parochial  schools, 
and  continued  to  do  so  for  twenty  years.  In  1868  the  an- 
nual report  contains  a  summary  of  the  work,  and  speaks 
of  an  increasing  interest.  The  next  year  the  Board  re- 
ported the  failure  of  the  whole  scheme,  and  mentioned 
the  causes,  especially  the  insuperable  practical  difficulties. 
No  action  was  taken  by  the  Assembly  in  regard  to  this 
part  of  the  report.  The  Board  had  aided  17  colleges  and 
seminaries,  58  academies  and  131  parochial  schools.  At 
the  reunion  in  1870  nothing  was  said  in  regard  to  this  part 
of  the  Board's  work  ;  the  whole  matter  was  dro])ped.  In 
1871  the  sum  of  |2020  was  "  applied  specially  to  the  closing 
up  of  the  schools  formerly  in  connection  with  the  Board."  * 

Wlien  was  the  Board  of  Education  organized  ? 

In  1819  the  General  Assembly,  having  been  overtured, 
determined  to  organize  the  Board  of  Education.  Its  ob- 
ject was  stated  to  be  the  assisting  young  men,  "  giving 
hopeful  evidence  of  piety  and  promising  talents,"  "to 
obtain  all  parts  of  an  education  necessary  to  their  intro- 
duction to  the  pulpit,  including  both  their  classical  and 
theological  course."  A  constitution  was  framed,  which 
afterward  received  but  few  modifications.  A  charter  was 
obtained  in  1841,  under  the  direction  of  the  O.  S.  As- 
sembly.f 

Wiat  is  the  American  Education  Society  ? 

In  1815  a  society  was  formed  in  Boston  which  was 
called  "  The  American  Society  for  Educating  Pious  Youth 
for  the  Gospel  Ministry."  The  name  was  in  1820  changed 
into  that  of  "The  American  Education  Society."  It  was 
designed  to  be  undenominational.      Its  supporters  and 

*  Minutes  {0.  S.)  1S68,  pp.  609,  719;  1S69,  p.  976;   IS'71,  p.  658. 
t  Assembly's  Digest,  pp.  399-403 ;  Presbyterian  Digest,  ]>.  353.     See 
p.  305. 


EDUCATION.  409 

beueficiaries  have  been  for  the  most  part  connected  with 
the  Congregational  and  Presbyterian  churches.  In  1818 
"the  Presbyterian  Educational  Society  at  New  York" 
was  formed,  and  in  1827  became  a  branch  of  the  Amer- 
ican Society,  as  did  other  similar  bodies.  In  1831  these 
branches  received  a  modification  of  their  relation  to  the 
parent  society,  especially  the  one  in  New  York,  which  was 
enlarged  in  its  influence  in  certain  territorial  limits,  and 
reassnmed  its  former  title,  "  The  Presbyterian  Educational 
Society."  It  remained  for  many  years  as  the  Presbyte- 
rian branch  of  the  American  Educational  Society.*  In 
1874  "  The  Society  for  the  Promotion  of  Collegiate  and 
Theological  Education  "  was  united  organically  with  the 
American  Educational  Society,  whose  name  then  became 
"  The  American  College  and  Educational  Society."  f 

Wliat  was  the  Western  Educational  Society? 

From  1838  to  1854  the  New  School  branch  of  the 
Church  co-operated  with  the  American  Education  and 
other  voluntary  societies.  In  1852  the  General  Assem- 
bly recommended  that  in  the  "West,  where  no  such  so- 
ciety existed,  one  should  be  formed,  to  be  called  "the 
"Western  Educational  Society,"  whose  annual  meeting 
should  be  at  the  same  time  and  place  as  those  of  the  As- 
sembly, and  Mdiich  should  permit  the  members  of  the 
Assembly,  ex-qfficio,  to  act  as  members  of  the  society.  % 

What  was  the  Permanent  Committee  on  Education  ? 

At  the  disruption  the  New  School  General  Assembly 
recommended  the  American  Education  Society  to  its 
Presbyteries  and  churches,  and  continued  to  do  so  for 
several  years.     But  in  1852  it  was  resolved  that  the 

*  Tiventy-third  Annual  Report  of  the  A.  E.  Society,  pp.  41-59. 
f  Fifty-eighth  Annual  Report  of  the  A.  E.  Society,  p.  19. 
%  Presbyterian  Reunion  Memorial  Volume,  p.  69. 
35 


410  OF    MISSIONS. 

Western  Educational  Society  and  all  others  should  re- 
port every  year  to  the  Assembly,  as  far  as  their  opera- 
tions should  relate  to  our  Church.  This  led  to  the  for- 
mation of  the  Permanent  Committee  on  Education  for 
the  Ministry  in  1856.  It  was  located  in  New  York,  and 
its  powers  and  duties  were  very  like  those  of  the  O.  S. 
Board  of  Education.  The  churches  were  recommended 
to  sustain  this  committee,  but  were  left  free  to  "  carry 
forward  educational  operations  within  their  bounds 
through  their  own  agencies  and  local  organizations,  and 
to  assist  their  young  men  directly  from  their  own  funds 
and  according  to  their  own  rules  and  regulations,  or 
operate  through  the  Assembly's  committee,  contributing 
their  funds  to  the  general  treasury,  and  placing  their 
Candidates  under  the  patronage  and  supervision  of  the 
said  committee."  Arrangements  were  also  to  be  made 
Muth  the  "  Central  American  Educational  Society  at  New 
York  "  and  the  "  Philadelphia  Educational  Society  "  for 
harmonious  co-operation.  An  act  of  incorporation  was 
obtained  in  1858.*  In  1861  the  plan  of  the  committee 
was  revised.f 

What  Is  "  the  Board  of  Education  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  the  United  States  of  America"? 

At  the  reunion  this  Board  was  formed  by  a  consolida- 
tion of  the  (O.  S.)  Board  of  Education  and  the  (N.  S.) 
Permanent  Committee  on  Education.  All  Presbyteries 
are  expected  to  see  that  the  churches  under  their  care 
shall  take  up  an  annual  collection  for  this  cause.  It  is 
located  in  Philadelphia.! 

How  are  applications  for  aid  to  be  made  to  the  Board  ? 

(See  pp.  306-311.) 

*  Presbyterian  Reunion  Memorial  Volume,  p.  69 ;  Nav  Digest,  pp.  332, 
410-423.  t  Pre.'ibyterian  Digest,  pp.  355-361. 


EDUCATION.  411 

What  change  in  the  functions  of  the  Board  has  been  pro- 
posed ? 

A  special  committee  on  the  functions  of  the  Board  of 
Education  was  appointed   in  1877,  and  was  continued 
until  1881,  when  it  recommended  (1)  that  this  Board  be 
the  executive  agency  of  our  Church  in  all  that  pertains 
to  the  training  of  Candidates  to  the  Ministry,  "  and  the 
aid,  upon  proper  conditions,  of  institutions  of  learning 
for  the  purpose,  and  also  for  all  other  educational  meas- 
ures which  may  from  time  to  time  be  referred  to  the  Board 
by  the  General  Assembly ;"   (2)  that  a  committee  be  ap- 
pointed to  revise  the  constitution  of  the  Board,  so  as  to 
enlarge  its  functions ;  (3)  that  the  Board  is  directed  to 
inaugurate  a  system  for  aid  of  colleges,  including  "  that 
bequests  and  other  contributions  for  this  purpose  be  dis- 
bursed through  the  Board,"  and  "  that  colleges  receiving 
aid  give  to  the  Board  satisfactory  guarantees  as  to  the 
wisdom  of  their  location,  their  organization  and  their  ad- 
ministration ;"  (4)  that  these  funds  be  kept  distinct  from 
those  for  the  aid  of  Candidates.     The  report,  with  these 
recommendations,  was  referred  to  a  committee  to  report 
to  the  next  Assembly.*     To  this  same  committee  was 
referred  a  report  from  the  Standing  Committee  of  Home 
Missions,  urging  the  appointment  of  a  Permanent  Com- 
mittee on  Education  in  the  West,  "to  systematize  this  de- 
partment of  church  work,  to  select  the  most  desirable  loca-^ 
tions  for  such  institutions  of  learning,  with  special  refer- 
ence to  the  supply  of  Missionaries  and  Teachers  for  the 
frontier,  to  devise  means  for  their  proper  endowment,  and 
to  take  charge  of  the  funds  until  they  are  distributed  and 
invested  for  the  designated  objects."*     Steps  were  taken 
to  aid  a  proposed  college  in  India. f     Appendix,  p.  543. 
*  Minutes  G.  A.  1881,  pp.  581-584.  f  See  p.  438. 


412  OF   MISSIONS. 

What  action  has  been  taken  in  regard  to  female  educa- 
tion? 

The  O.  S.  Assembly  in  1849  warned  parents  against 
sending  their  children  to  Romish  schools,  as  dangerous 
to  the  children  and  as  a  violation  of  the  vows  made  in 
baptism.*  In  1880  the  Assembly  resolved,  "That  in 
view  of  the  close  connection  between  our  homes  and  con- 
gregations and  the  education  of  the  girls  born  within  our 
Church,  this  General  Assembly  commend  to  the  confi- 
dence of  our  people  the  educational  institutions  which  do 
their  work  in  sympathy  with  the  character  and  aims  of 
our  Church.  And,  further,  that  Ministers  be  urged  to 
countenance,  and  in  all  fitting  ways  promote,  the  efficiency 
of  ladies'  schools,  where  they  are  needed  in  addition  to 
our  State  institutions,  in  which  the  highest  culture  shall 
be  accompanied  and  leavened  by  the  evangelical  faith  and 
worship  of  our  Church."  f 

Board  of  Publication. 

What  early  measures  were  taken  by  the  Church  to  pro- 
cure the  publication  of  religious  books? 

In  1735  the  members  of  Synod  were  required  to  sub- 
mit to  a  committee  for  examination  and  approval  what- 
ever they  may  prepare  upon  any  controversy  in  religious 
matters  before  they  shall  publish  the  same.  In  1772  a 
committee  was  appointed  to  consider  the  necessity  of  pro- 
curing religious  books  for  distribution  on  the  frontier  and 
in  poor  c  )ngregations.  The  Synod  ordered  a  general  col- 
lection from  tlie  churches,  a  pastoral  letter  to  the  congre- 
gations, and  that  a  committee  be  authorized  to  procure 
and  distribute  the  following  books,  not  to  exceed  ten 
pounds  currency  each  in  purchasing  them :  Bibles, "  West- 
*  Pres.  Digest,  p.  678.      f  Minutes  G.  A.  ISSO,  p.  71 ;  ISSl,  p.  584. 


PUBLICATION.  41 3 

minster  Confession  of  Faith,"  small  editions  of  Vincent's 
"  Catechism,"  Doddridge's  "  Rise  and  Progress  of  Relig- 
ion," "  A  Compassionate  Address  to  the  Christian  World," 
Allein's  "Alarm  to  the  Unconverted,"  Dr.  Watts's  "Di- 
vine Songs  for  Children,"  and  the  Assembly's  "  Cate- 
chism." Other  books  and  pamphlets  donated,  "  which 
they  judge  will  answer  the  intention  of  the  Synod  to 
promote  Christian  knowledge,"  they  could  also  distribute. 
The  next  year  two  committees,  one  in  Philadelphia  and 
the  other  in  New  York,  were  appointed  to  procure  books 
to  give  to  the  poor.  In  1803  application  was  made  by 
the  Presbytery  of  Erie  for  Bibles  and  other  pious  books, 
to  be  used  as  a  circulating  library  "  for  the  spiritual  edi- 
fication of  the  numerous  poor  and  ignorant  persons  in 
that  place  who  are  perishing  for  lack  of  knowledge."  * 

How  were  Bibles  procured  for  distribution  ? 

A  committee  of  three  Ministers  was  appointed  in  1783 
by  the  Synod  to  receive  contributions  for  the  purchase  of 
Bibles ;  and  for  certain  reasons  the  Synod  ordered  that 
the  committee  shall  procure  its  supply  of  Bibles  only 
from  an  American  impression  executed  by  Mr.  Aitken.f 
At  the  first  meeting  of  the  General  Assembly  (1789),  Mr. 
Collins,  a  printer  in  the  State  of  New  Jersey,  proposed 
to  make  an  impression  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments, 
and  desired  the  countenance  and  support  of  our  Church 
and  of  all  denominations  of  Christians.  A  committee  of 
sixteen  was  appointed  to  procure  subscriptions.  Dr.  John 
Witherspoon,  Dr.  Samuel  S.  Smith  and  Rev.  James  F. 
Armstrong  were  appointed  "  to  concur  with  such  com- 
mittee as  may  be  appointed,  whether  from  any  other  de- 
nomination or  from  any  other  Synod  of  our  denomina- 

*  Records  of  Presbyterian  Church,  pp.  117,  428,  429,  441 ;  Assembly's 
Digest,  p.  413.  f  Records  of  Presbyterian  Church,  p.  500. 

36* 


414  OF   MISSIONS. 

tion,  to  revise  and  correct  the  proof-sheets,  and,  if  neces- 
sary, to  fix  upon  the  most  correct  edition  of  the  Scriptures 
to  be  recommended  to  the  printer  from  which  to  make  his 
impression."  The  suggestion  was  also  made  that  Oster- 
vald's  notes  be  printed  with  it,  if  not  inconsistent  with 
the  views  of  the  denominations  joining  in  the  enterprise.* 

When  was  the  first  Bible  society  formed  ? 

As  early  as  1698  there  was  in  Great  Britain  a  Society 
for  the  Promotion  of  Christian  Knowledge,  from  which 
sprang  others  in  different  parts  of  the  kingdom.  These 
embraced  the  circulation  of  the  Bible  as  one  of  their 
objects.  "  The  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  *'  was 
organized  in  1804  with  a  fund  of  £700.  Its  executive 
committee  consisted  of  fifteen  Church-of-England  lay- 
men, fifteen  dissenters  and  six  foreigners.  It  at  once  pub- 
lished an  edition  of  20,000  Bibles  and  5000  Testaments. 
Auxiliaries  were  formed  at  home  and  on  tlie  Continent. "j* 

When  was  the  American  Bible  Society  organized  ? 

In  1808  the  Bible  Society  of  Philadelphia  was  formed. 
The  next  year  there  was  organized  one  in  Connecticut 
and  one  in  Massachusetts.  In  1813  one  was  formed  in 
Halifax,  and  in  1814  one  in  Antigua.  In  1816  "The 
American  Bible  Society  "  was  organized  in  New  York  ; 
its  receipts  the  first  year  were  $37,779,  and  it  sent  forth 
6410  volumes.f  The  same  year  the  General  Assembly 
recorded  its  gratification  and  heartfelt  pleasure  in  hear- 
ing "  of  the  formation  of  the  American  Bible  Society  a 
few  days  since  in  the  city  of  New  York,  and  from  the 
unanimity  manifested  by  all  denominations  of  Christians 
on  that  occasion,  the  fervor  of  zeal  displayed  and  eager- 
ness manifested  by  the  numerous  and  highly  res])ectable 
delegation  which  attended  to  combine  their  exertions  in 

*  Assembly's  Digest,  p.  415.  f  American  Cyclopcedia. 


PUBLICATION.  415 

promoting  the  best  interest  of  their  fellow-men  by  fur- 
nishing them  with  the  bread  of  life,  they  cannot  but 
believe  that  it  is  the  work  of  God — that  it  will  stand, 
and  prove  a  rich  blessing  to  those  who  may  enjoy  the 
fruits  of  its  exertions."* 

What  is  the  Authorized  Version  of  the  Bible  ? 

It  is  that  which  is  called  "  King  James's  Version,"  or 
the  version  of  1611.  The  Bible  Society  is  required  by 
its  charter  to  print  no  other.  It  is  the  one  authorized 
to  be  read  in  the  churches  in  England  and  this  country. 
In  1870,  at  the  Convocation  of  Canterbury,  tlie  Anglo- 
American  Revision  originated,  wliich  is  commonly  called 
the  "  New  Version."  The  plan  was  started  by  the  Church 
of  England,  but  soon  after  the  organization  of  tlie  Eng- 
lish Committee  an  invitation  was  sent  to  American  scholars 
to  co-operate.  A  similar  committee,  of  about  thirty,  was 
formed  here  in  1871.  Dr.  Green  of  Princeton  was  made 
Chairman  of  the  Old-Testament  Company,  and  Ex-Presi- 
dent Woolsey  of  New  Haven  of  the  New-Testament  Com- 
pany. The  New  Testament  was  completed  and  approved 
by  the  English  and  American  Committees  in  1880.  It 
was  printed  in  Oxford  and  Cambridge,  and  issued  simul- 
taneously in  England  and  in  this  country.  It  appeared 
during  the  session  of  the  General  Assembly  in  1881. 
The  revision  of  the  Old  Testament  is  still  progressing.f 

When  was  the  first  Tract  Society  formed? 

The  societies  in  Great  Britain,  called  "  Societies  for 
Promoting  Christian  Knowledge,"  above  referred  to,  had 
as  one  of  their  objects  the  distribution  of  "  tracts  of  re- 
ligion." In  1750  the  "Society  for  Promoting  Religious 
Knowledge  among  the  Poor"  was  the  first  publishing 

*  Assembly's  Digest,  p.  416. 

f  Companion  to  the  Revised  Version. 


416  -  OF    MISSIONS, 

society  composed  of  different  denominations  uniting  to 
promote  the  circulation  of  religious  books  and  tracts 
In  1756  similar  societies  were  formed  in  Edinburgh  and 
Glasgow.  Miss  Hannah  More  in  1795  began  the  "Cheap 
Repository  Tracts/'  among  which  was  "  The  Shepherd  of 
Salisbury  Plain."  In  1793  the  "  Religious  Tract  Society," 
or,  as  it  is  now  called,  the  "  Religious  Tract  and  Book 
Society  of  Scotland,"  was  established.  "The  Religious 
Tract  Society  of  London"  was  founded  in  1799.  The 
first  religious  publication  society  in  the  United  States 
was  the  "Methodist  Book  Concern,"  organized  in  Phila- 
delphia in  1789  ;  it  was  afterward  moved  to  New  York. 
Rev.  Dr.  Jedidiah  Morse  of  Charlestown,  Mass.,  in  1802 
published  editions  of  19  tracts,  amounting  to  32,806  cop- 
ies, which  were  distributed  mostly  in  Maine,  Kentucky 
and  Tennessee.  The  next  year  the  "  Massachusetts  So- 
ciety for  Promoting  Christian  Knowledge"  was  founded 
by  him  and  others.  From  this  time  until  1814  many 
similar  tract  societies  were  formed  in  the  different  States.* 

When  was  the  American  Tract  Society  organized  ? 

In  1814  the  "New  England  Religious  Tract  Society" 
was  originated  at  Andover,  by  Rev.  E.  Porter,  D.  D,,  and 
Rev.  Justin  Edwards,  D.  D.,  with  some  of  the  Professors 
of  the  seminary  there.  In  1823  its  name  was  changed 
to  "American  Tract  Society."  Its  depository  was  at  An- 
dover until  1825,  and  then  transferred  to  Boston.  In 
the  spring  of  1825  the  "American  Tract  Society"  was 
organized  in  New  York,  with  the  intention  of  uniting 
all  local  societies  as  auxiliaries.  The  one  in  Boston  be- 
came a  branch  of  it,  selling  its  plates  and  publications  to 
it  at  cost.*  This  union  was  interrupted  in  1859,  but  re- 
established in  1878. 

*  American  CycIopwAia. 


PUBLICATION.  417 

When  did  the  Presbyterian  Church  take  action  on  the 
publication  of  tracts  ? 

In  1809  the  General  Assembly  recommended  that 
each  Synod  should  establish  as  many  tract  societies  as 
might  be  most  convenient,  and  upon  such  plans  as  the 
Synods  might  think  best.* 

What  was  "  the  Presbyterian  Tract  and  Sabbath-school 
Book  Society"? 

In  1833  the  Synod  of  Philadelphia  organized  this 
society,  under  its  supervision,  to  publish  tracts  and  books 
for  the  destitute  and  for  the  young,  which  should  incul- 
cate the  doctrines  taught  in  our  standards. f 

What  was  "  the  Board  of  Publication  of  Tracts  and  Sab- 
bath-school Books"? 

Immediately  after  the  disruption  the  O.  S.  Assembly 
founded  this  Board,  locating  it  in  Philadelphia.  This 
was  done  because  of  the  evident  importance  of  diffusing 
sound  and  scriptural  principles,  and  because  it  is  the  duty 
of  the  highest  judicatory  of  the  Church  to  superintend 
and  conduct,  by  its  own  authority,  the  work  of  furnish- 
ing suitable  publications.  The  Board  was  composed  of 
eighty  members.  To  the  Executive  Committee  belonged 
the  duty  of  selecting  and  preparing  proper  tracts  and 
books.  Its  property  was  held  by  the  Trustees  of  the 
Assembly.  And  the  "  Presbyterian  Tract  and  Sabbath- 
school  Book  Society "  was  transferred  from  the  care  of 
tlie  Synod  of  Philadelphia  and  merged  into  this  Board, 
under  the  care  of  the  Assembly.  | 

What  was  "the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Publication"? 

In  1839  the  "Board  of  Publication  of  Tracts  and  Sab- 
bath-school Books"  received  some  alterations  in  its  con- 

*  Assembly's  Digest,  p.  415.  t  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  435. 

X  Ibid.,  p.  433. 

2B 


418  '  OF    MISSIONS. 

stitution.  Its  name  was  changed  to  "  the  Presbyterian 
Board  of  Publication/'  and  it  was  authorized  to  publish 
approved  works  in  support  of  the  great  principles  of  the 
Reformation,  of  the  doctrine  and  polity  of  our  Church, 
and  of  periodicals  teaching  sound  learning  and  true  re- 
ligion. In  1841  congregational  libraries,  composed  of 
the  publications  of  the  Board  and  under  the  direction 
of  the  Session,  were  recommended.  In  1843  the  As- 
sembly approved  of  the  establishing  of  depositories  in 
the  different  Synods  and  Presbyteries.*  Its  property  con- 
tinued under  the  care  of  the  Trustees  of  the  Assembly  un- 
til 1847,  when  a  charter  was  obtained  incorporating  the 
"Trustees  of  the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Publication." f 

What  was  the  "  Doctrinal  Tract  Committee  "  ? 

In  1846  an  overture  on  the  subject  of  doctrinal  tracts 
was  brought  before  the  N.  S.  General  Assembly.  The 
subject  was  referred  to  a  committee,  but  nothing  was 
done  until  1852,  when  "  the  Doctrinal  Tract  Committee" 
was  formed  "  to  superintend  the  publication  of  a  series 
of  tracts  explanatory  of  the  doctrines,  government  and 
mission  policy  of  the  Presbyterian  Church."  It  was  lo- 
cated in  Philadelphia.  No  tract  could  be  published  until 
it  was  unanimously  approved  by  the  committee.  This 
rule  was  afterward  changed,  so  that  only  a  three-fourths 
vote  was  necessary,  and  still  later  a  mere  majority  Avas 
sufficient.  Often  the  committee  is  called  in  the  Minutes 
the  "  Standing  Committee  for  the  Preparation  and  Pub- 
lishing; of  Doctrinal  Tracts."  Books  as  well  as  tracts 
were  prepared  by  it.  All  its  publications  were  in  1854 
ordered  to  appear  simultaneously  in  New  York  and 
Philadelphia.! 

*  Assembly's  Dic/cst,  p.  419.  f  Presbyier'mn  Dlged,  p    441. 

X  New  Dicjest,  pp.  ?i9\  .'-)97. 


PUBTJOATION.  419 

What  was  "the  Presbyterian  Publication  Committee"? 

In  1855  the  name  of  the  Doctrinal  Tract  Committee 
was  changed  to  the  "Presbyterian  Publication  Commit- 
tee." In  1857  it  was  authorized  "  to  publish  not  only 
such  works  as  may  present  the  peculiarities  of  our  branch 
of  the  Christian  Church  in  doctrine  and  practice,  but 
from  time  to  time  such  works  of  an  evangelical  charac- 
ter as  may  be  profitable  to  the  Church  at  large."  This 
committee  was  not  incorporated.  But  in  1855  an  act 
was  passed  by  the  Legislature  of  Pennsylvania  incorpor- 
ating "  the  Trustees  of  the  Presbyterian  House,"  to  hold 
property  and  secure  "some  suitable  place  for  the  business 
of  the  societies  and  churches  connected  with  the  Assem- 
bly." These  Trustees  were  authorized,  in  their  corporate 
capacity  as  Trustees  of  the  Presbyterian  Publication  Com- 
mittee, as  fully  and  in  the  same  manner  as  if  that  com- 
mittee was  itself  constituted  a  corporation  by  the  same 
authority.*  The  property  Nos.  1334  and  1336  Chestnut 
Street,  Philadelphia,  was  purchased,  and  the  houses  re- 
modeled for  the  use  above  described. 

What  is  "the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Publication"? 

At  the  reunion  in  1869  it  was  resolved  that  the  cor- 
porate rights  of  the, boards  and  committees  of  the  two 
Assemblies  should  be,  as  far  as  practicable,  consolidated, 
and  that  the  (O.  S.)  Board  of  Publication  and  the  (N.  S.) 
Presbyterian  Publication  Committee  should  be  reconstruct- 
ed as  soon  as  possible;  but  that  in  the  mean  time  they 
should  continue  to  issue  their  publications  until  consoli- 
dated, and  until  the  new  Board  could  perfect  a  catalogue 
for  the  united  Church,  so  as  to  exclude  invidious  refer- 
ences to  past  controversies.f     In   1870  the  Presbyterian 

*New  Digest,  pp.  398,  400,  404-409;  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  43o-437, 
t  See  p.  265. 


420  OF    MISSIONS. 

Board  of  Publication  and  the  Presbyterian  Publication 
Committee  were  united  under  the  name  of  the  "Presby- 
terian Board  of  Publication."  All  the  members  of  these 
old  bodies  were  discontinued,  and  forty-eight  members, 
in  equal  numbers  from  each  of  the  late  branches  of  the 
Church,  were  chosen.  All  the  internal  arrangements 
necessary  for  carrying  on  the  work  were  left  to  the  de- 
cision of  the  new  Board.  All  the  properties  belonging 
to  the  former  Board  and  Committee  were  placed  in  pos- 
session of  the  "Trustees  of  the  Presbyterian  Board  of 
Publication,"  incorporated  in  1 847.  The  said  Board  of 
Trustees  was  made  to  represent  equally  both  former 
branches  of  the  Church.  This  was  done  by  filling  va- 
cancies caused  by  deaths  and  resignations.  The  Trustees 
of  the  Presbyterian  House  conveyed  to  this  Board  the 
house  and  lot  Nos.  1334  and  1336  Chestnut  Street, 
Philadelphia.  This  building  'svas  to  be  rebuilt,  suited 
to  the  wants  of  the  reunited  Church.  The  house  No. 
821  Chestnut  Street,  already  owned  by  the  Board,  was 
ordered  to  be  sold.* 

How  many  departments  has  the  Board  ? 

1.  The  Publication  Department.  "This  is  carried  for- 
ward upon  a  capital  raised  for  that  special  purpose,"  and 
is  conducted  upon  strictly  business  principles,  and  not 
only  sustains  itself  by  the  sale  of  books  and  periodicals, 
but  often  contributes,  from  its  profits,  sums  to  the  other 
departments  of  the  Board.  The  character  of  the  books 
published  is  determined  by  the  General  Assembly.f  Spe- 
cial directions  have  been  given,  as  for  the  publication 
of  certain  books  and  tracts  in  foreign  languages  and  for 
special  classes.      In   1880  "the  Board  was  enjoined  tc 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  92,  437-440.      See  p.  417. 
f  See  from  p.  417.     Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  433. 


PUBLICATION,  421 

exercise  continued  caution  and  unceasing  vigilance,  lest 
at  any  time  its  press  should  send  forth  publications  cast- 
ing the  slightest  doubt  upon  the  divine  authority  and 
plenary  inspiration  of  the  Bible,  or  upon  the  divinity 
and  atoning  death  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  or  upon 
the  fact  of  man's  utter  ruin  by  sin,  and  his  absolute 
need  of  redemption  through  the  blood  shed  upon  the 
cross.  If  the  truth  must  be  taught  in  the  form  of  fiction, 
at  least  it  must  be  truth  ;  and,  in  the  judgment  of  your 
committee,  no  book  professing  to  contain  religious  truth 
should  be  published  by  the  Board  unless  it  also  contains 
enough  of  the  gospel  to  show  a  child  how  to  be  saved."* 
2.  The  Missionary  Department.  "  The  department 
having  this  work  in  charge  shall  be  separately  consti- 
tuted, and  shall  keep  a  distinct  account  with  the  Board. 
It  shall  be  its  duty  to  disseminate  the  publications  of  the 
Board  by  donations  to  Ministers  and  to  needy  churches, 
and  by  sale  through  its  appointees,  who  shall  be  called 
the  Missionaries  of  the  Board  of  Publication,  and  who 
shall  be  appointed  subject  to  the  approval,  and  shall  be 
under  the  control,  of  the  Presbyteries."  f  In  1878  the 
Assembly  was  asked  to  consider  the  desirableness  of  an 
organic  separation  between  the  missionary  and  business 
departments  of  the  Board,  and  replied:  ''As  these  de- 
partments are  already  practically  separated  and  distinct, 
and  as  no  part  of  the  missionary  fund  is  used  in  the 
business  department,  but,  on  the  contrary,  all  the  ex- 
penses of  the  missionary  department  are  more  than  paid 
for  by  the  contributions  from  the  business  department; 
therefore  resolved.  That  it  would  be  unwise  to  make  any 
change."!      This   department   is    sustained    by   annual 

*  Minutes  O.  A.  1880,  p.  28;  Appendix,  p.  541. 
t  Minutes  G.  A.  187 J,,  p.  45.  %  Ibid.,  1878,  p.  29. 

36 


422  ^  OF    MISSIONS. 

contributions  from  the  churches,  as  ordered  by  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly.  *''A11  contributions  to  the  missionary 
fund  are  used  exclusively  to  carry  forward  the  Board's 
missionary  and  Sabbath-school  work,  in  supporting  the 
book,  tract  and  Sabbath-school  Missionaries,  in  paying 
for  the  books  and  tracts  given  away,  and  such  otlier  ex- 
penses as  belong  legitimately  to  this  benevolent  branch 
of  the  Board's  work."* 

In  the  organization  of  the  Board  at  the  reunion  this 
necessity  was  recognized — "the  maintenance  of  a  force 
of  colporteurs  sufficiently  large  to  reach  the  outlying 
population  of  the  land  by  the  gospel,  and  to  prepare  the 
way  for  the  establishment  of  churches  wherever  they 
may  be  made  permanent  and  effectual."  f  In  1881  the 
Assembly  appointed  a  committee  of  seven  "to  consider 
and  report  to  the  next  Assembly  what  ciianges  and  meas- 
ures, if  any,  are  needed  in  order  to  increase  the  work  and 
the  efficiency  of  the  missionary  department  of  the  Board 
of  Publication,"!     Appendix,  p.  540. 

What  is  colportage  ? 

A  system  adopted  by  the  Board,  with  the  approbation 
of  the  O.  S.  Assembly,  in  1847,  by  which  its  publica- 
tions were  carried  by  men  commissioned  as  colporteurs 
to  the  destitute,  for  gratuitous  distribution  and  for  sale.§ 
After  the  reunion  the  Standing  Committee  in  this  Board 
in  1871  stated  that  "they  are  convinced,  from  all  the 
light  which  they  have  been  able  to  obtain,  that  the  col- 
porteur system  of  distribution  is  essential  to  the  efficiency 
of  this  Board,  and  that  instead  of  being  diminished  it 
ought  to  be  largely  increased."     The  Assembly  therefore 

*  3Imntes  G.  A.  1880,  p.  152. 

f  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  438.     See  p.  424. 

i  Minute.^  G.  A.  188 J,  p.  556.  ?  A.ssembh/s  Dir/est,  p.  420 


PUBLICATION.  423 

resolved,  "That  the  Board  of  Publication  be  recommend- 
ed to  prosecute  with  increased  energy  the  work  of  distri- 
bution by  an  efficient  and  economical  system  of  colportage, 
under  the  direction  of  the  several  Presbyteries."  * 

The  colporteurs  are  commissioned  by  the  Board,  and 
receive  salaries  for  their  labor.  They  work  under  the 
supervision  of  the  Presbyteries,  who  are  urged  by  the 
Assembly,  wherever  the  work  is  prosecuted,  to  "give  to 
it  prompt  and  thorough  inspection,  exercising  presbyte- 
rial  supervision  most  thoroughly."  Any  one  proving 
inefficient  or  unfaithful  must  be  reported  to  the  Board, 
and  his  commission  at  once  withdrawn.  Their  duties 
consist  in  visiting  from  house  to  house  the  destitute  in 
a  certain  district,  holding  religious  conversation  in  the 
families,  praying  with  them,  and  in  selling  or  donating 
the  publications  of  the  Board.  In  1874  it  was  also  made 
their  special  duty  to  organize  Sabbath-schools  in  destitute 
localities  and  foster  those  already  established.  These 
colporteurs  were  in  1874  ordere<l  to  be  called  "the 
Missionaries  of  the  Board  of  Publication."  f  In  1881 
these  Missionaries  reported  that  during  the  year  they 
had  distributed  by  sale  71,396  volumes,  and  by  gift 
25,057  volumes  and  4,652,744  pages  of  tracts.  They 
visited  72,106  families,  with  most  of  whom  they  held 
religious  conversation  and  prayer.|  From  1874  to  1880 
they  visited  and  aided  8205  Sabbath-schools,  and  organ- 
ized 474  new  schools  in  destitute  places. §  In  1881  it  was 
resolved  that  the  churches  "  be  expected  to  give  a  larger 
study  and  affection  to  the  missionary  w^ork  of  the  Board." 
The  Board  was  requested  "  to  consider  whether  a  reduction 
of  the  number  of  the  District  Superintendents  might  not 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  1871,  pp.  527,  528.  ?  Ibid.,  1880,  p.  151. 

+  Ibid.,  1881,  p.  665.     f  Ibid.,  1S7J,,  pp.  31,  60;  Appendix,  p.  541. 


424  -  OF   MISSIONS. 

be  made  without  impairing  the  efficiency  of  the  missionary 
department  of  the  Board ;"  and  a  committee  was  appointed 
"  to  consider  and  report  to  the  next  Assembly  what  changes 
and  measures,  if  any,  are  needed  in  order  to  increase  the 
work  and  the  efficiency  of  the  missionary  department."  * 

In  regard  to  the  Sabbath-school  work,  the  Board  has 
always  paid  special  attention  to  the  publication  of  books 
for  the  young.  In  1871  it  was  resolved  that  the  Board, 
so  enlarged  in  the  sphere  of  its  ojjerations,  keep  before 
it  these  three  branches  of  the  Sabbath-school  work ; 

a.  "To  furnish  a  complete  literature  for  Sabbath- 
schools,  consisting  of  its  own  and  other  well-selected 
books  for  libraries,  helps  of  all  kinds  for  the  study  of 
the  Scriptures  and  Catechism,  periodicals  for  teachers 
and  scholars,  and  all  other  apparatus  fitted  to  give 
efficiency  to  the  work  of  teaching."    Appendix,  p.  520. 

h.  "  To  establish  such  agencies  as  it  may  deem  suit- 
able for  elevating  the  standard  of  teaching  and  more 
thoroughly  developing  the  great  idea  of  Sabbath-schools 
— that  of  imparting  the  knowledge  of  God  to  the  young 
and  drawing  them  to  the  salvation  of  Christ." 

c.  "  In  appointing  colporteurs,  as  far  as  possible  to 
select  such  persons  as  may  also  be  suitable  for  Sabbath- 
school  Missionaries,  and  instruct  them  to  establish  Sab- 
bath-schools in  destitute  localities,  under  the  supervision 
of  the  Presbyteries."  f  In  1874  the  Assembly  resolved 
that  the  missionary  department  of  the  Board  "shall  su- 
pervise the  whole  Sabbath -school  work  of  the  Church  in 
connection  with  the  Presbyteries,  and  it  shall  aim  to  lift 
this  important  agency  of  Christian  evangelization  into 
the  prominence  and  efficiency  which  it  deserves,  and 
which    the   great   needs   of  our  own  country  have   so 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  ISSl,  p.  565.  f  Pred>y(crian  Digest,  p.  440, 


PUBLICATION.  425 

largely  called  for  at  the  present  time.  And  further- 
more, in  addition  to  the  amount  appropriated  by  the 
Board  from  the  collections  made  by  the  churches,  it 
shall  receive  and  apply  donations  specifically  designated 
for  the  Sabbath-school  work."*  In  1871  the  Assembly 
approved  of  the  appointment  by  the  Board  of  a  general 
Superintendent  of  Sabbath-school  work,  and  requested 
the  Sabbath -schools  of  our  Church  to  contribute  at  least 
once  a  year  to  this  department  of  the  Board.  In  1878 
Presbyteries  were  urged  "to  appoint  a  committee  or  pres- 
byterial  Superintendent,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  oversee 
and  encourage,  as  far  as  may  be,  the  Sabbath-schools  in 
the  bounds  of  the  Presbytery,  and  especially  to  take  order 
for  collecting  and  transmitting  to  the  General  Superin- 
tendent the  statistics  of  each  school."  f  In  1880  the 
Assembly  recommended  that  the  Superintendent  "be  ap- 
pointed by  the  General  A  ssembly  Secretary  of  the  Sabbath- 
school  work  of  the  Board."  |  In  1881  the  Assembly  renew- 
ed "  the  earnest  recommendations  of  former  Assemblies  as 
to  sessional  control  of  Sabbath-schools,  .  .  .  the  collection 
of  Sabbath-school  statistics,  and  the  use  of  the  periodical 
Sabbath-school  literature  of  the  Board  in  the  family  as 
well  as  in  the  school."  Sabbath -schools  were  "requested 
to  aid  the  Board  by  the  purchase  of  its  books,  by  the  use  of 
its  periodicals  and  by  contributions  to  its  missionary  fund." 
And  "that  the  Board  be  directed  to  appoint  from  their 
own  number  a  Standing  Committee  of  seven  to  advise 
and  consult  with  the  Secretary  of  Sabbath-school  work."§ 

What  is  the  Sabbath-sehool  Normal  Class  ? 

From  the  outset,  the  Superintendent  of  Sabbath-school 
work  has  pressed  upon  the  Church  the  necessity  and 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  1874,  PP-  31,  45.  f  Tbid.,  1878,  p.  25. 

t  Ibid.,  1880,  p.  27.  I  Ibid.,  1881,  p.  555. 

36  * 


426  ^  OF   MISSIONS. 

importance  of  the  more  thorough  preparation  of  teacliers 
for  the  Sabbath-school.  In  1879  he  began  a  normal 
class,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Presbyteries  of  Phila- 
delphia, in  the  assembly-room  of  the  Publication  House. 
It  was  well  attended  by  Pastors,  Superintendents  and 
Teachers.  A  three  years'  course  of  normal-class  instruc- 
tions was  prepared,  and  the  subjects  announced  for  the 
first  year.  The  Assembly  approved  of  this  action,  and 
"  earnestly  recommended  the  formation  of  normal  classes 
wherever  practicable."  *  In  1881  the  holding  of  Sabbath- 
school  institutes  and  conventions  and  the  general  organ- 
ization of  normal  classes  were  urged.f     App.,  p.  541. 

The  Board  of  Foreign  Missions. 

How  early  did  Protestant  cliiirclies  turn  tlieir  attention 
to  missions  ? 

At  the  Reformation  the  principal  work  before  the. 
Protestant  churches  was  necessarily  internal,  developing 
their  doctrine,  polity  and  worship.  Their  external  work 
was  principally  defending  themselves  from  civil,  intel- 
lectual and  religious  attacks,  and  winning  Romanists  to 
the  truth.  Yet  Luther  often  reminded  Christians  of 
"the  misery  of  pagans  and  Turks,"  and  urged  them  to 
send  Missionaries  to  them.  Calvin  sent  fourteen  spiritual 
teachers  with  a  small  French  colony  in  1555  t(^  Brazil,  to 
teach  the  Reformed  religion  there.  This  first  Protestant 
mission  was  short-lived.  In  1664,  Ernest  von  Wels  urged 
the  formation  of  a  "Jesus  Association  "  for  the  propagation 
of  Christianity  among  the  pagans,  but  he  was  regarded  iis 
a  fanatic.  Soon  after  the  settlement  of  New  England, 
John  Eliot  became  deeply  interested  in  the  spiritual  con- 
dition of  the  Indians,  and  in  1646  formally  entered  upon 
*  Minules  G.  A.  1S79,  pp.  5o8,  7U0.  f  Ibid.,  ISSl,  p.  ooo. 


FOREIGN    MISSIONS.  427 

his  mission  among  them,  "with  the  Mohegan  version  of 
the  Bible  as  the  fruit  of  his  own  unaided  labors.'"  This 
mission  continued  for  many  years,  and  met  with  wonder- 
ful success.  Cromwell  conceived  the  plan  of  uniting  all 
the  Protestant  churches  in  the  world  into  one  great  mis- 
sionary society,  and  that  the  whole  earth  be  divided 
into  four  missionary  provinces.  In  1701  some  members 
of  the  "Society  for  Promoting  Christian  Knowledge" 
formed  themselves  into  a  committee  "  for  sending  Mis- 
sionaries to  the  pagans,"  and  took  the  name  of  the  "  Soci- 
ety for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts." 
It  was  and  is  under  the  control  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land. The  "Scottish  Society  for  Propagating  Christian 
Knowledge"  was  formed  in  1709,  and  labored  chiefly 
among  the  American  Indians.  But  little  was  really 
done  by  the  Protestant  churches  until  the  close  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  except  by  the  Moravians,  whose 
success  was  wonderful  in  the  West  Indies,  Greenland, 
North  and  South  America. 

A  new  interest  in  the  cause  of  missions  began  about 
1790,  which  led  to  the  formation  of  the  "  Baptist  Mis- 
sionary Society  of  England"  in  1792,  principally  through 
the  influence  of  William  Carey,  who  became  the  first 
English  Missionary  to  India.  In  1795  the  "Loudon 
Missionary  Society  "  was  formed,  its  members  belonging 
to  four  different  denominations,  and  twenty-nine  young 
men  were  sent  to  its  first  mission-field,  the  islands  of  the 
Pacific.  In  1799  "the  Church  Missionary  Society"  was 
organized.  Its  management  has  always  been  in  the  hands 
of  the  Low-Church  party;  its  Missionaries  must  subscribe 
to  the  Thirty-nine  Articles  and  submit  to  Episcopal  ordi- 
nation. The  Methodists  organized  a  missionary  society 
at  Leeds  in  1814,  which  soon  became  very  efficient.     A 


428  OF   MISSIONS. 

"Scotch  Missionary  Society"  was  formed  in  1796.  But 
the  General  Assembly  the  same  year  declared  the  idea  of 
sending  Missionaries  among  the  pagans  to  be  folly.  This 
was,  however,  reversed  in  1824,  and  the  Assembly  in  1829 
sent  Dr.  Duff,  its  first  Missionary,  to  India.* 

What  was  done  by  the  American  churches? 

The  condition  of  the  Indians  early  attracted  the  atten- 
tion of  the  churches  planted  in  this  country.  The  exam- 
ple of  John  Eliot  was  followed  by  many  others  in  different 
colonies.f 

What  early  efforts  were  made  by  the  Presbyterian  Church? 

At  the  first  meeting  of  the  General  Presbytery  of  which 
we  have  any  record  (1707)  the  missionary  character  and 
duty  of  the  Church  was  recognized.  At  the  first  meeting 
of  the  Synod  (1717)  a  fund  for  pious  uses  was  raised ;  this 
was  yearly  continued  by  collections  from  the  churches.  In 
1742  a  Missionary  to  the  Indians  M^as  ordained.  The  first 
formal  act  of  the  Synod  concerning  foreign  missions  was 
in  1751.  "The  exigences  of  the  great  affair  of  propa- 
gating the  gospel  among  the  heathen  being  represented 
to  the  Synod,  the  Synod,  in  order  to  promote  so  import- 
ant and  valuable  a  design,  do  enjoin  all  their  members  to 
appoint  a  collection  in  their  several  congregations  once 
every  year,  to  be  applied  for  that  purpose,  and  that  the 
money  raised  by  such  collections  be  yearly  sent  to  the 
Synod."  The  next  year  this  is  called  "the  collection  for 
the  Indians."  In  1755,  "Mr.  Gilbert  Tennent  reported 
to  the  Synod  that  he  has  lately  received  a  bill  for  two 
hundred  pounds  sterling,  generously  given  for  the  prop- 
agation of  the  gospel  among  the  Indians,  and  to  be  under 
the  direction  of  this  Synod."  This  money  was  contrib- 
uted in  Great  Britain,  and  was  invested  with  the  Trustees 

*  American  Cyrlopfrdia.  t  See  p.  426. 


FOREIGN   MISSIONS.  429 

of  the  New  Jersey  College,  and  the  interest  of  it  was 
yearly  used  to  sustain  the  missions  among  the  Indians. 
The  first  Missionary  seems  to  have  been  Rev.  David 
Brainard,  who  labored  among  the  Indians  in  New  Jer- 
sey.    This  mission  was  continued  until  1781.* 

How  were  these  missions  conducted  ? 

They  were  under  the  supervision  of  the  Synod,  and 
appropriations  were  yearly  made  from  the  "  fund  for 
Indians"  and  the  collections  from  the  churches.  The 
Missionaries  were  appointed  by  the  Synod.  In  1768  a 
committee  of  twelve  members  of  Synod  was  formed  and 
ordered  to  meet  at  Elizabeth  town,  "to  draw  up  and  con- 
cert a  general  plan  to  be  laid  before  this  Synod  at  their 
next  meeting,  to  be  approved  by  them,  in  order  to  pre- 
pare the  way  to  propagate  the  gospel  among  these  be- 
nighted people  "  (the  Western  Indians).  Nothing,  how- 
ever, was  done.f  When  the  General  Assembly  was  formed 
in  1788,  missions  among  the  Western  Indians  were  main- 
tained by  the  Synod  of  Virginia,  and  upon  the  division  of 
that  Synod  these  missions  fell  to  the  Synod  of  Pittsburg. 
Other  missions  were  conducted  by  other  Synods,  as  among 
the  Southern  Indians  by  the  Synod  of  the  Carolinas.  Re- 
ports were  annually  made  to  the  General  Assembly  by 
the  Synods,  who  appointed  the  Missionaries  and  directed 
the  work  through  a  Committee  of  Missions  and  a  Board 
of  Trust.  The  General  Assembly  ordered  its  Trustees 
to  make  appropriations  to  these  Synods  to  further  the 
work.  In  1806  the  Synod  of  Pittsburg  desired  the 
General  Assembly  to  take  their  missions  under  its  im- 
mediate care,  but  it  was  not  thought  expedient  to  do  so  at 
that  time.     In  1825  these  were  transferred  to  the  United 

*  Records  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  pp.  245,  248,  266,  269. 
t  Ibid.,  pp.  380,  391. 


430  ,  OF   MISSIONS. 

Foreign  MissioDary  Society.*  In  1791  the  following 
resolution  was  passed :  "  Resolved,  That  the  Synod  of 
the  Carolinas  be  allow^ed  so  to  manage  the  matter  of 
sending  Missionaries  to  places  destitute  of  the  gospel 
and  its  ordinances  as  may  appear  to  that  Synod  most 
conducive  to  the  interest  of  religion  within  their  bounds  ; 
provided,  that  the  above  Synod  send  annually  to  this 
Assembly  a  particular  account  of  their  proceedings  on 
the  above  subject,  with  a  regular  statement  of  the  money 
that  may  be  collected  and  disbursed  for  the  support  of 
the  above  Missionaries."  f 

What  recent  action  has  been  taken  In  regard  to  the  Indian  ? 

The  Assembly  of  1880,  in  reply  to  overtures,  resolved, 
"That,  recognizing  the  fact  that  the  relations  and  duties 
of  our  country  to  the  Indians  have  long  occupied  the  se- 
rious and  careful  attention  of  the  United  States  govern- 
ment, the  Assembly  express  the  earnest  hope  and  desire 
that  as  rapidly  as  possible  there  may  be  (1)  an  extension 
of  law  over  the  Indian  tribes,  giving  to  them  its  protec- 
tion and  making  them  amenable  thereto;  (2)  an  individ- 
ual ownership  of  land  guaranteed  to  them,  and  made  in- 
alienable for  a  term  of  years ;  (3)  the  support,  by  the 
General  Government,  of  common  schools  among  them; 
and  (4)  the  securing  to  the  Indians  of  the  enjoyment  of 
full  religious  liberty."  A  committee  was  appointed  to 
present  the  above  resolution  and  urge  the  government  to 
take  action  to  promote  the  welfare  of  the  Indian.  They 
had  an  interview  with  the  President,  and  laid  before 
him  a  memorial.  The  committee  reported  the  next  year, 
and  was  continued,  and  increased  by  the  addition  of  five  * 
members.  J 

*  See  p.  433.  f  Assembly's  Digest,  pp.  329-336,  342. 

X  Mhinles  G.  A.  ISSO,  p.  75;   ISSl,  pp.  565-568. 


FOREIGN    MISSIONS.  431 

When  was  "  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for 
Foreign  Missions"  organized? 

It  was  organized  in  1810.  It  was  the  first  missionary 
society  formed  in  this  country.  "  It  owed  its  origin  to 
a  society  of  students  of  Andover  Theological  Seminary, 
among  whom  was  Adoniram  Judson,  whose  object  was 
to  investigate  the  best  ways  and  means  of  making  the 
gospel  known  to  pagan  nations."  It  had  no  denomina- 
tional basis,  but  was  sustained  by  the  Congregational, 
Presbyterian,  Dutch  Reformed  and  other  churches.*  For 
many  years  the  Presbyterian  Church  co-operated  with 
it,  and  as  late  as  1836  the  Assembly  declared,  "That 
M'hatever  advantages  or  disadvantages  may  have  resulted 
from  the  division  of  the  Church  into  numerous  denom- 
inations with  conflicting  opinions,  it  cannot  be  our  duty, 
as  Christians,  to  perpetuate  and  extend  these  divisions 
by  incorporating  them  in  our  arrangements  to  spread  the 
gospel  in  heathen  lands."  After  the  division  the  New 
School  branch  continued  to  co-operate  until  the  reunion.f 

What  was  "  the  Standing  Committee  on  Foreign  Missions  "  ? 

The  N.  S.  Assembly  co-operated  with  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M. 
up  to  the  time  of  the  reunion.  But  in  1850  the  subject 
of  the  "  erection  of  Presbyteries  in  foreign  lands "  was 
referred  to  a  committee.  No  definite  action  was  taken 
until  1854,  it  having  been  found  that  under  the  rules  of 
the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.  it  was  impracticable  to  organize  Pres- 
byteries and  Presbyterian  churches  on  foreign  ground. 
A  Standing  Committee  was  formed  to  correspond  with 
the  Prudential  Committee  of  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.  and  with 
Presbyterian  Missionaries  on  the  subject,  and  report  an- 
nually. J 

*  American  Cyclopcedia.  f  Assembly's  Dicjesl,  p.  373. 

1  New  Diffest,  p.  424. 


432  '  OF    MISSIONS. 

What  was  the  "  Permanent  Committee  on  Foreign  Mis- 
sions "  ? 

The  Standing  Committee  was  in  1856  enlarged  and 
called  the  "  Permanent  Committee."  Its  duties  were 
increased  by  requiring  an  annual  report  as  to  the  mis- 
sionary operations  in  which  Presbyterian  churches  were 
engaged,  the  number  of  Presbyterian  Ministers  and  Can- 
didates in  foreign  fields,  the  amount  of  collections  from 
churches,  and  the  interest  taken  by  the  denomination. 
In  1859  several  overtures  urged  the  Assembly  to  form 
a  closer  connection  with  its  foreign  Missionaries,  and  to 
form  Presbyteries  on  foreign  ground.  One  reminded 
the  Assembly  "that  after  contributing  millions  of  money 
we  have  not  a  solitary  mission  church,  or  but  one,  in  the 
entire  foreign  field,"  and  suggested  "  that  a  portion  of  the 
foreign  field  be  set  apart  (by  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.)  to  be 
occupied  exclusively  by  Missionaries  of  our  Church." 
Another  urged  direct  control  of  our  Missionaries  as  to 
their  ecclesiastical  relations.  The  Assembly  resolved 
that  these  overtures  demanded  consideration  and  action, 
and  that,  while  desiring  to  perpetuate  co-operation  with 
the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.,  the  Assembly  recorded  its  judgment, 
as  due  to  the  interest  of  the  Church,  that  the  Board 
should  interpose  no  obstacle  in  the  way  of  the  formation 
of  foreign  Presbyteries ;  that  Missionaries  should  be  so 
appointed  as  to  facilitate  the  organizing  of  such  Presby- 
teries; and  that  there  be  free  correspondence  between 
the  Missionaries  and  the  Permanent  Committee.  The 
Board  professed  its  desire  to  further  these  views,  and  the 
Missionaries  "in  some  fields  were  preparing  to  perpetuate 
in  foreign  countries  our  excellent  Presbyterian  polity." 
The  Synod  of  New  York  and  New  Jersey  were  empow- 
ered to  form  and  receive  foreign  Presbyteries.     It  was 


FOREIGN   MISSIONS.  433 

further  resolved  that  it  was  inexpedient  "to  initiate  any 
new  and  independent  foreign  missionary  undertaking." 
In  1860  the  question  was  again  considered,  "  whether  as 
a  denomination  we  can  continue  to  work  with  the  Amer- 
ican Board,  or  whether  the  time  has  come  to  initiate  a 
system  under  which  we  can  more  rapidly  and  fully  de- 
velop the  strength  and  spirit  of  our  people."  The  Per- 
manent Committee  continued  its  work  until  the  reunion.* 

In  1865  it  obtained  a  charter,  by  which  it  was  incor- 
porated to  hold  property  for  foreign  missionary  pur- 
poses. Its  "duty  shall  be  to  superintend  the  whole 
cause  of  foreign  missions  in  behalf  of  the  said  General 
Assembly  as  said  General  Assembly  may  from  time  to 
time  direct,  also  to  receive,  take  charge  of  and  disburse 
any  property  or  funds  .  .  .  entrusted  to  said  General 
Assembly  or  said  Permanent  Committee  for  foreign  mis- 
sionary purposes."  *  Yet  the  Permanent  Committee  did 
not  undertake  all  the  work  provided  for  in  its  charter, 
but  to  the  last  its  functions  were  not  to  raise  and  dis- 
tribute funds  or  conduct  missions,  but  to  supervise  the 
part  of  the  work  belonging  to  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
and  to  report  to  the  Assembly  the  results. f 

What  other  missionary  societies  were  formed  early  in  the 
century? 

The  American  Baptist  Missionary  Union  was  formed 
in  1814,  the  Missionary  Society  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  in  1819,  and  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church  organized  its  Board  in  1820.| 

What  was  "the  United  Foreign  Missionary  Society"? 

The  committee  which  reported  in  1816  to  the  General 

^  Ntw  Digest,  pp.  425-433 ;  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  431^33. 
t  Presbyterian  Reunion  Memorial  Volume,  p.  92. 
X  American  Oydopcedia. 

37  2  C 


434  .  OF    MISSIONS. 

Assembly  the  plan  by  which  the  Committee  of  Missions 
were  erected  into  the  Board  of  Missions*  considered  the 
propriety  of  directing  that  Board  to  undertake  foreign  as 
well  as  home  missions,  but  thought  it  more  desirable  that 
a  society  be  formed,  including  also  the  Dutch  Reformed, 
the  Associate  Reformed  and  other  churches  holding  the 
same  creed.  This  suggestion  led  the  next  year  to  the 
formation  of  the  "United  Foreign  Missionary  Society." 
The  object  was  "to  spread  the  gospel  among  the  Indians 
of  North  America,  the  inhabitants  of  Mexico  and  South 
America,  and  in  other  portions  of  the  heathen  and  anti- 
Christian  world."  It  was  required  to  present  "  annual 
reports  to  the  highest  judicatories  of  the  three  denom- 
inations." It  was  located  in  New  York,  and  the  Mis- 
sionaries were  "  chosen  from  the  three  churches  indis- 
criminately"— "viz.,  Presbyterian,  Dutch  Reformed  and 
Associate  Reformed."  This  society  continued  until  1826, 
when,  according  to  its  request  and  that  of  the  American 
Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions,  the  As- 
sembly consented  to  the  union  of  the  two  societies, f 

Did  the  Assembly  reliaqulsli  the  work  of  foreign  mis- 
sions ? 

In  1812  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for 
Foreign  Missions  suggested  to  the  Assembly  the  expe- 
diency of  its  forming  an  institution  similar  to  theirs, 
which  might  co-operate  with  them  in  work  among  the 
unevangelized  nations.  But  the  Assembly  declined  to 
do  so,  because  "the  business  of  foreign  missions  may 
probably  be  best  managed  under  the  direction  of  a  single 
Board;"  it  was  "inconvenient  to  undertake  the  work  while 
pressed  with  the  domestic  missions,  and  because  mission- 
ary societies  have  been  lately  instituted  in  various  places 

*  See  p.  388.  f  Assembly's  Digest,  pp.  337-341. 


FOREIGN    MISSIONS.  435 

within  our  bounds."  In  1817,  however,  it  did,  with  other 
churches,  form  the  "  United  Foreign  Missionary  Society," 
and  sustained  it  until  it  was  united  in  1826  with  the 
American  Board.*  The  subject  was  considered  again  in 
1828,  when  the  Assembly  resolved,  "That  the  Board  of 
Missions  already  have  the  power  to  establish  missions, 
not  only  among  the  destitute  in  our  own  country,  but 
also  among  the  heathen  in  any  part  of  the  world.  .  .  . 
It  is  therefore  submitted  to  the  discretion  of  the  Board 
of  Missions  to  consider  whether  it  is  expedient  for  them 
to  carry  into  eifect  the  full  powers  which  they  possess."  f 
In  1831  an  overture  on  foreign  missions  was  presented, 
and  a  committee  was  appointed  to  confer  with  the 
American  Board.  The  report  of  this  committee  was 
considered  the  next  year,  and  the  Assembly  expressed 
no  opinion  on  its  principles,  but  cordially  renewed  its 
recommendation  of  the  American  Board  to  the  affec- 
tions and  patronage  of  the  churches.^ 

What  was  the  "Western  Foreign  Missionary  Society"? 

It  was  anticipated  by  some  that  the  committee  ap- 
pointed in  1831  to  confer  with  the  American  Board 
would  attempt  to  form  a  treaty  with  that  Board  tending 
to  preclude  our  Church  from  engaging  in  its  own  capa- 
city in  the  work.  To  prevent  this,  the  Synod  of  Pitts- 
burg in  1831  organized  itself  into  the  "  Western  Foreign 
Missionary  Society."  The  Assembly  hailed  with  pleasure 
the  interest  in  foreign  missions  thus  manifested  by  that 
Synod.  In  1835  the  Assembly  declared  that  "  it  is  be- 
lieved to  be  among  the  causes  of  the  frowns  of  the  great 
Head  of  the  Church  which  are  now  resting  on  our  beloved 
Zion  .  .  .  that  we  have  done  so  little,  comparatively  noth- 

*  New  Digest,  p.  347.  f  Assembly's  Digest,  p.  354. 

t  Ibid.,  p.  364. 


436  -  OF   MISSIONS. 

ing  in  our  distinctive  character  as  a  Church  of  Christ,  to 
send  the  gospel  to  the  heathen,  the  Jews  and  the  Moham- 
medans. It  is  regarded  as  of  vital  importance  to  the 
welfare  of  our  Church  that  foreign  as  well  as  domestic 
missions  should  be  more  zealously  prosecuted  and  more 
liberally  patronized ;  and  that,  as  a  nucleus  of  foreign 
missionary  effort  and  operation,  the  'Western  Foreign 
Missionary  Society'  should  receive  the  countenance,  as  it 
appears  to  us  to  merit  the  confidence,  of  those  who  cher- 
ish an  attachment  to  the  doctrines  and  order  of  the  Church 
to  which  w^e  belong."  A  committee  was  appointed  to  con- 
fer with  the  Synod  of  Pittsburg,  and  "authorized,  if  they 
shall  approve  of  the  said  transfer"  (of  the  "Western  Mis- 
sionary Society"  to  the  supervision  of  the  Assembly),  "to 
ratify  and  confirm  the  same  with  the  said  Synod,  and  re- 
port the  same  to  the  next  General  Assembly."  In  1836 
the  committee  reported  that  terms  for  the  transfer  had 
been  agreed  upon,  and  the  Synod  of  Pittsburg  had  rati- 
fied them ;  and  it  was  proposed  at  once  to  organize  a 
"  Board  of  Foreign  Missions"  to  direct  the  work  and  take 
possession  of  the  property  thus  transferred  to  the  Assem- 
bly. After  a  long  debate  it  was  decided,  by  a  majority 
of  four,  not  to  consent  to  the  transfer,  on  the  ground 
that  the  powers  granted  to  the  committee  were  "alto- 
gether unusual  and  unwarranted,"  and  that  the  command 
to  preach  to  every  creature  was  given  "  not  to  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  in  her  distinctive  ecclesiastical  capacity, 
but  to  the  whole  Church,  to  the  collective  body  of  Christ's 
disciples  of  every  name."  In  1837,  however,  the  Assem- 
bly did  organize  a  "Board  of  Foreign  Missions,"  and  the 
Synod  of  Pittsburg  immediately  surrendered  to  it  all  its 
missions  and  property.  Its  Corresponding  Secretary  was 
called  to  the  same  office  in  the  Board,  and  the  "Western 


FOREIGN   MISSIONS.  437 

Foreign  Missionary  Chronicle  "  was  adopted  as  the  official 
organ  of  the  Board.* 

What  is  the  "  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church  in  the  United  States  of  America"? 

The  subject  of  foreign  missions  was  again  brought 
before  the  Assembly  in  1837  by  an  overture  from  the 
Presbytery  of  Salem.  It  was  determined  (yeas  108, 
nays  29)  "  that  the  General  Assembly  will  superintend 
and  conduct  by  its  own  proper  authority  the  work  of 
foreign  missions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  by  a  Board 
appointed  for  that  purpose  and  directly  amenable  to  said 
Assembly."  The  Board  was  composed  of  eighty  mem- 
bers, afterward  increased  to  one  hundred  and  twenty.  Its 
name  was  "  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  in  the  United  States  of  America."  Its 
Executive  Committee  consisted  of  nine  members,  besides 
the  Corresponding  Secretary  and  Treasurer,  and  appointed 
the  Missionaries  and  took  the  oversight  of  the  work.  The 
property  for  a  time  was  held  by  the  Trustees  of  the  As- 
sembly. The  Board  was  located  in  New  York,  but  its 
first  meeting  was  held  in  Baltimore.f  This  Board  con- 
tinued its  work  until  the  reunion,  sustained  by  the  O.  S. 
churches,  and  since  1870  it  has  been  the  Board  of  the 
whole  Church.  Particular  churches  and  individuals  are 
of  course  at  liberty  to  contribute  to  other  societies.  At 
the  reunion  an  amicable  arrangement  was  made  with  the 
American  Board,  by  which  five  of  its  most  successful 
missions,  with  their  forty-three  Missionaries  and  a  large 
number  of  native  Licentiates  and  Helpers,  were  trans- 
ferred to  our  Board.  %  / 

*  Assembly's  Digest,  pp.  364-374. 
t  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  430,  431. 
t  Minutes  G.  A.  1871,  p.  534. 
37* 


438  ~  OF   MISSIONS. 

What  changes  were  made  in  the  Board  of  Foreign  Mis- 
sions at  the  reunion  ? 

The  Board  shall  consist  of  fifteen  members,  besides  its 
Corresponding  Secretaries  and  Treasurer,  five  to  be  elected 
each  year.  One  of  its  ex-qffieio  members  shall  be  a  cor- 
responding member  of  General  Assembly  on  all  subjects 
relating  to  foreign  missions.  "Besides  the  duties  already 
committed  to  their  charge,  the  Board  shall  perform  the 
duties  heretofore  assigned  to  the  Executive  Committee 
of  the  Board  and  to  the  Permanent  Committe  on  For- 
eign Missions,  in  so  far  as  these  have  not  been  super- 
seded or  modified  by  this  minute."* 

What  has  the  Board  to  do  with  education  ? 

The  Board  has  the  supervision  of  all  the  work  of  the 
Church  in  the  foreign  missionary  field.  Much  attention 
is  given  to  the  education  of  children  and  to  raising  a 
native  ministry.  In  1881  the  Board  was  "directed  to 
correspond  with  the  Boards  of  the  other  churches  repre- 
sented in  the  Presbyterian  Alliance  of  India,  informing 
them  of  our  approval  of  the  proposed  theological  college 
at  Allahabad,  and  assuring  them  of  our  earnest  co-oper- 
ation in  the  establishment  and  support  of  the  proposed 
college;  and  to  report  the  results  of  such  correspondence 
to  the  next  Assembly."  f 

What  is  women's  work  ia  foreign  missions  ? 

(See  p.  398.)  In  1871  the  women's  foreign  missionary 
societies  raised  $7000,  and  in  1875,  $96,000.  In  that 
year  the  Assembly  referred  to  their  great  efficiency  and 
usefulness,  and  recommended  the  formation  of  societies 
auxiliary  in  all  our  churches.  In  1879  the  Board  of 
Foreign  Missions  reported  that  there  were  then  seven 
women's  Boards  auxiliary  to  it,  whose  efforts  for  the 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  432.  f  Minutes  G.  A.  ISSl,  p.  590. 


CHURCH    ERECTION.  439. 

spiritually  destitute  women  in  heathen  lands  have  been 
very  fruitful :  The  Woman's  Foreign  Mission  Society, 
Philadelphia;  Woman's  Board  of  Missions  of  the  North- 
west; Ladies'  Board  of  Missions  of  New  York;  Woman's 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  Albany  Branch;  Woman's 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  Troy  Branch;  Home  and 
Foreign  Mission  Society,  Brooklyn ;  and  Board  of  Mis- 
sions of  the  South-west.  These  raised  during  that  year 
$136,309.69.*  It  is  becoming  a  custom  to  hold  a  con- 
vention of  these  and  other  societies  for  women's  work  for 
women  during  the  session  of  the  General  Assembly,  in 
a  church  in  the  same  city.  The  one  held  in  1881  was 
very  largely  attended  and  was  of  great  interest. 

Board  of  Church  Erection. 

What  early  measures  were  taken  to  aid  Churcli  Erection  ? 

In  1733  it  was  overtured  "  that  something  be  allowed 
to  the  congregations  of  Baskingridge  and  Perth  Amboy,  in 
pursuance  of  their  applications  for  that  purpose,  in  order 
to  assist  them  in  defraying  the  charges  of  their  meeting- 
houses ;  ...  all  which  was  referred  to  the  Committee  of 
the  Fund"  for  Pious  Uses.  In  1775  a  similar  application 
for  aid  was  received  from  the  congregation  at  Salem, 
Mass.,  to  assist  jn  rebuilding  their  meeting-house,  Avhich 
had  been  destroyed  by  fire.  This  was  urged  by  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Boston.  The  Synod  "  recommended  them  as 
an  object  of  charity,  hoping  all  persons  of  ability  will 
contribute  to  their  relief."  f 

Wliat  was  the  Church  Extension  Committee? 

In  1843  an  overture  was  presented  to  the  O.  S.  As- 
sembly respecting  the  erection  of  churches   for  feeble 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  1875,  pp.  496,  499 ;  1879,  p.  572. 
t  Assembly's  Dvjest,  p.  421, 


140  OF   MISSIONS. 

congregations.  A  committee  was  appointed  to  consider 
the  matter  and  report  to  the  next  Assembly.  It  did  so, 
and  the  Assembly  expressed  its  judgment  that  suitable 
houses  for  worship  were  necessary,  and  that  each  congre- 
gation, if  able,  should  erect  its  own.  But  as  it  is  the 
duty  of  the  whole  Church  to  aid  feeble  cliurches  to  sus- 
tain a  Minister,  so  is  it  to  assist  such  churches  to  build 
proper  houses  in  which  to  Avorship.  As  this  work  is  so 
intimately  connected  with  that  of  the  Board  of  Missions, 
it  was  referred,  until  otherwise  ordered,  to  that  Board, 
who  should  report  annually  concerning  it.  The  Board 
was  required  to  appoint  each  year  a  "  Committee  on 
Church  Extension,"  composed  of  five  persons,  who 
were  to  have  charge  of  appropriating  moneys  received 
for  this  purpose,  and  procure  and  furnish  at  cost  or 
gratuitously  plans  and  estimates  for  buildings,  on  ap- 
plication. The  Board  of  Missions  was  required  to  make 
rules  for  the  committee  in  receiving  applications,  obtain- 
ing funds  and  making  appropriations.  Collections  for 
the  object  were  ordered  to  be  made  yearly  in  the  churches. 
In  1854  the  Assembly  ordered  the  Board  to  enlarge  the 
Committee  of  Church  Extension,  appoint  a  Secretary 
for  this  specific  department,  bring  this  important  cause 
more  prominently  before  the  churches,  and  present  a 
separate  report  of  the  receipts  and  disbursements  of  this 
fund.  In  1855  the  Assembly  relieved  the  Board  of 
Missions  of  this  business,  and  committed  it  to  certain 
persons,  who  were  required  to  organize  as  the  Committee 
of  Church  Extension,  directly  subject  to  the  Assembly, 
and  to  be  located  at  St.  Louis.*  Its  principles,  as  declared 
in  its  first  report,  were — appropriations  shall  be  made  on 
recommendation  of  Presbyteries ;  the  amount  shall   be 

*  Assembly's  Difjest,  pp.  422-424. 


CHURCH    ERECTION.  441 

iletermined  by  the  necessities  of  the  congregation  and  the 
state  of  the  treasury ;  appropriations  shall  be  granted 
as  widely  and  equally  as  possible;  a  certificate  shall  be 
required  from  the  Trustees  that  the  property  is  secured 
to  the  O.  S.  Presbyterian  Church,  and  that  the  appro- 
priation will  complete  the  house  free  of  debt ;  uncalled- 
for  appropriations  shall  be  null  after  two  years ;  donors 
shall  have  the  right  to  designate  the  church  to  be  aided ; 
and  appropriations  shall  be  made  payable  as  soon  after  a 
fixed  time  as  the  church  comply  with  the  conditions.* 

What  was  "  the  Board  of  Church  Extension  "  ? 

In  1860  the  Assembly  changed  the  name  of  the  com- 
mittee above  described  to  the  "  Board  of  Church  Exten- 
sion," without  making  any  change  in  its  internal  organi- 
zation or  in  its  relations  to  the  Assembly.f  This  Board 
continued  its  operations  until  the  reunion.  But  it  had 
no  charter  or  permanent  funds,  and  was  therefore  free 
from  legal  obstacles  to  a  union  with  the  N.  S.  Trustees 
of  the  Church  Erection  Fund. J 

What  was  "  the  Church  Erection  Committee  "  ? 

In  1850  the  N.  S.  Assembly  resolved,  "That  it  be  rec- 
ommended to  our  churches  to  strive  earnestly  to  render 
our  religious  institutions  permanent  by  the  erection  of 
church  edifices  and  the  settlement  of  Pastors  wherever 
this  can  be  done ;  and  in  this  work  the  older  and  wealth- 
ier churches  ought  to  co-operate  with  the  younger  and 
feebler."  In  1853  it  was  determined  to  raise  a  perma- 
nent fund  of  $100,000  to  aid  feeble  congregations  in 
erecting  houses  of  worship.  A  Church  Erection  Com- 
mittee of  ten  persons  was  to  be  annually  elected  by  the 
Assembly,  six  of  whom  should  live  in  New  York  and 

*  Minutes  G.  A.,  1856,  p.  555.  f  Ibid.,  1860,  pp.  33,  40. 

%  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  442. 


442  ~  OF    MISSIONS. 

four  in  Philadelphia.  The  meetings  were  to  be  held 
alternately  in  these  cities.  The  fund  was  confided  to  the 
Treasurer  of  the  Assembly,  subject  to  the  order  of  the 
committee,  but  no  appropriation  could  be  granted  until 
the  whole  sum  of  $100,000  be  raised.  Reports  were  to 
be  made  to  the  Assembly  of  the  relative  needs  of  each 
Synod,  of  the  condition  of  the  fund,  and  proposing  a 
proportionment  of  the  same.  The  Assembly  were  to 
determine  the  amount  to  which  each  Synod  would  be 
entitled  for  the  next  year.  This  amount  might  be  drawn 
by  the  Synod  for  loans  or  donations  to  the  churches.  Each 
loan  must  be  definitely  agreed  upon,  and  security  in  bond 
and  mortgage  or  personal  notes  obtained  satisfactory  to 
the  committee.  Donations  might  be  made,  and  loans  re- 
mitted in  cases  of  need,  to  one-fourth  the  amount  appor- 
tioned to  the  Synod.  But  all  moneys  must  be  secured 
on  the  house,  in  case  of  a  change  in  the  ecclesiastical 
relations  of  the  church.  Each  church  receiving  aid 
must  take  an  annual  collection  for  the  Church  Erection 
Committee.  No  interest  was  demanded  on  loans  until 
the  principal  became  due.* 

What  was  "  The  Trustees  of  the  Church  Erection  Fund 
of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the 
United  States  of  America"? 

In  1854  the  N.  S.  Assembly  resolved  to  form 
a  Board  of  Trustees,  so  named,  to  consist  of  nine 
persons,  of  whom  four  shall  be  Ministers,  and  five 
Elders  of  churches  under  the  care  of  this  Assembly ; 
these  Elders  shall  be  residents  in  New  York.  The 
Board  shall  be  located  in  that  city,  and  make  annual 
reports  to  the  Assembly.  A  charter  was  obtained  to  en- 
able the  Trustees  to  hold  and  administer  the  fund.  The 
*  Neiv  Di(jesl,  pp.  375-378. 


CHURCH    ERECTION.  443 

iuties  assigned  to  the  Church  Erection  Committee  were 
transferred  to  this  Board  of  Trustees,  which  was  to  per- 
form them  through  Committees  on  Church  Erection  in 
the  several  Synods.  Each  application  for  aid  shall  be 
written  and  full,  and  made  first  to  these  synodical  com- 
mittees. If  approved,  it  shall  be  endorsed  by  tlie  com- 
mittee and  sent  to  the  Board  of  Trustees,  which,  on  re- 
ceiving the  necessary  papers,  legally  approved,  may  grant 
the  amount  thus  secured.  No  loan  or  donation  shall  be 
made  except  to  an  organized  church  and  on  a  building 
otherwise  free  from  incumbrance,  and  in  j)ayment  of 
debts  contracted  within  a  year.  The  loan  could  not 
exceed  one- third  the  value  of  property,  nor  more  than 
$500.  A  donation  shall  not  be  more  than  $200,  nor 
exceed  one-fourth  the  value  of  property.  All  loans 
shall  be  made  on  the  following  conditions :  (1)  The  prin- 
cipal shall  be  returned  in  four  equal  annual  installments. 
the  first  to  be  due  in  three  years  from  date  of  loan  ;  (2) 
if  the  installments  are  punctually  paid,  no  interest  will 
be  required;  (3)  in  default  of  any  payment  interest  shall 
be  required  on  the  whole  unpaid  loan ;  (4)  if  the  church 
withdraw  from  the  General  Assembly,  the  whole  amount 
unpaid  shall  at  once  become  due.  Security  shall  be  given 
by  mortgage  of  the  property,  which  shall  be  kept  insured. 
In  1855,  the  Board  being  fully  organized  and  incorpor- 
ated, the  Church  Erection  Fund  was  transferred  to  it  by 
the  Treasurer  of  the  Assembly.  The  whole  amount, 
$100,000,  was  completed  in  1856,  and  appropriations 
were  then  made.*  In  1866  the  above  plan  was  so 
changed  that  the  system  of  loans  to  churches  was  aban- 
doned, and  the  fund  was  invested,  and  the  interest  there- 
on, with  the  collections  from  the  churches,  was  used  in 
*  NfAv  I)igr.-<l,  i>p.  378  393. 


444  ,  OF   MISSIONS. 

making  absolute  donations  to  feeble  congregations,  se- 
cured by  mortgage  and  insurance  as  before.  Tliese  do- 
nations shall  not  exceed  one-third  the  amount  contrib- 
uted, and  secured  by  mortgage  on  the  house  and  lot.  The 
Permanent  Fund  retained  that  name,  and  moneys  re- 
ceived from  collections  and  other  sources  were  called 
"the  Supplementary  Fund."  Applications  for  aid  shall 
be  first  made  to  the  Church  Erection  Committee  of 
Presbytery,  instead  of  to  that  of  the  Synod,  as  for- 
merly.* 

What  is  "  the  Board  of  the  Church  Erection  Fund  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States  of  America"? 

At  the  reunion  the  (O.  S.) "  Board  of  Church  Extension  " 
and  the  (N.  S.)  "Trustees of  the  Church  Erection  Fund" 
were  united,  retaining  the  name  and  charter  of  the  Trus- 
tees of  the  "  Church  Erection  Fund."  The  Board  (con- 
sisting of  twenty-one  persons)  was  chosen  impartially  from 
both  branches  of  the  Church.  Of  the  Trustees,  seven 
Ministers  and  eight  laymen  resided  in  or  near  New  York, 
and  three  Ministers  and  three  laymen  in  the  West.  The 
Board  was  located  in  New  York.  The  charter  was 
amended,  so  that  the  name  was  changed  to  "  the  Board 
of  the  Church  Erection  Fund  of  the  General  Assembly 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States  of 
America."  t     Appendix,  p.  541. 

What  changes  have  been  made  in  the  work  of  the 
Board? 

In  1879  the  Assembly  received  an  overture  from  the 
Board  asking  "that,  in  view  of  the  importance  of  esta,b- 
lishing  schools  and  building  chapels  in  Utah,  New 
Mexico  and  Alaska,  the  plan  governing  the  Board  may 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  443-448. 
t  Minutes  G.  A.  1S70,  p.  117. 


CHURCH    ERECTION.  445 

be  amended  so  that  the  Supplementary  Fund  may  be 
made  available  for  the  building  of  chapels  as  well  as 
of  churches,  and  also  for  authority  to  effect  such  a  change 
in  the  character  of  the  said  Board  as  shall  enable  them 
to  engage  in  the  work  of  chapel-building."  A  similar 
request  came  from  the  Presbytery  of  Colorado.  The 
Board  obtained  leave  to  effect  the  changes  necessary.* 
The  next  year  the  Board  reported  that  application  had 
been  made  for  the  change  in  the  charter,  but  it  had  not 
yet  been  granted,  and  when  made  it  would  authorize 
them  to  build  chapels  only  in  Utah,  New  Mexico  and 
Alaska.f 

In  1880  the  Assembly  approved  "  the  action  of  the 
Board  in  declining,  in  ordinary  cases,  to  aid  any  church 
to  the  amount  of  more  than  $1000  to  build  expensive 
houses  of  worship."! 

In  the  same  year  an  overture  was  received  desiring  a 
change,  so  that  the  Board  could  grant  aid  to  churches 
owned  by  Presbyteries.  The  Assembly  replied  that  "we 
do  not  deem  it  expedient  that  the  charter  of  the  Board 
be  amended  for  the  purpose  of  meeting  special  cases ; " 
"that  an  easy  way  out  of  the  difficulty  may  be  found;  .  .  . 
that  the  Presbytery  deed  the  property  to  the  new  churches 
it  desires  to  erect,  in  their  corporate  names.  The  Trus- 
tees of  these  churches  will  then  be  able  to  receive  the 
aid  needed  from  the  Board,  and  can  return  to  the  Board 
the  mortgage  required.  The  Trustees  of  the  churches 
can  then  give  a  second  mortgage  to  the  Trustees  of  the 
Presbytery,  thus  securing  them  in  their  rights."  § 

(In  regard  to  manses,  see  p.  472.) 

*  Minutes  O.  A.  1879,  p.  587.  f  -^^i<^-.  ^^^0,  p.  156. 

t  Ibid.,  p.  50.  §  Ibid.,  p.  51. 


446  .  of  missions. 

Board  of  Relief. 

What  were  the  early  efforts  of  our  Church  to  relieve 
disabled  Ministers  and  widows? 

Rev.  John  Wilson,  one  of  the  original  members  of  the 
General  Presbytery,  died  in  1712,  and  in  1719  the  Synod 
of  Philadelphia  resolved  that  an  appropriation  of  four 
pounds  be  made  to  his  widow  from  the  fund  for  pious 
uses.  She  received  another  appropriation  in  1 725.  In 
1733,  Rev.  J.  Andrew,  an  aged  Minister,  applied  to  the 
Synod  for  an  assistant  in  his  ministry  in  Philadelphia. 
This  was  granted,  on  condition  that  the  church  make 
provision  for  his  honorable  maintenance  for  life.* 

What  was  the  Widows'  Fund  ? 

In  1755  the  following  plan  was  approved  by  the  Synod 
of  Philadelphia,  and  signed  by  all  the  Ministers  present: 
Each  Minister  shall  pay  annually  into  a  common  stock 
two  or  three  pounds ;  future  members  of  the  Synod  and 
Candidates  may  enter  into  the  same  agreement.  Out  of 
the  fund  thus  raised  shall  be  annually  paid  five  pounds, 
or  seven  pounds  ten  shillings,  to  the  widow  of  every  de- 
ceased member,  according  as  the  Minister  paid  two  or 
three  pounds  annually.  If,  however,  the  widow  should 
remarry,  she  shall  receive  but  one-third  of  the  annuity, 
and  the  other  two-thirds  shall  pass  to  the  child  or  chil- 
dren of  the  deceased  Minister  for  twelve  years  after  the 
father's  death,  and  be  divided  among  such  children  as 
the  company  shall  judge  best.  If  there  be  no  children, 
and  the  widow  marry,  she  shall  receive  only  one-half  the 
amount  through  the  rest  of  her  life.  If  any  member 
become  disabled,  he  shall  be  entitled  to  like  annuities 
during  his  disability.  The  fund  was  further  to  be  in- 
creased by  annual  collections  in  the  churches.  Thirty- 
■*  Records  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  pp.  58,  80,  105. 


MINISTERIAL    RELIEF.  447 

seven  pounds  were  subscribed  on  the  first  day.  This 
was  called  "the  Widows'  Fund."  Five  annual  payments 
must  be  made  by  the  Minister  before  the  annuity  could 
be  available.  If  a  Minister  should  die  before  these  are 
made,  one-half  of  the  annuity  shall  be  paid  to  the  widow 
until  the  amount  be  completed.  A  charter  was  obtained 
in  1759  with  the  corporate  name  of  "  The  Corporation 
for  Relief  of  Poor  and  Distressed  Presbyterian  Ministers, 
and  of  the  Poor  and  Distressed  Widows  and  Children 
of  Presbyterian  Ministers."  Its  capital  stock  could  not 
exceed  one  thousand  pounds  for  each  twenty  Ministers.* 
The  corporation  still  continues,  and  is  the  oldest  life  insur- 
ance company  in  the  United  States.  The  company  construes 
the  term  "  Presbyterian  Ministers  "as  including  Presbyteri- 
ans, Reformed  Presbyterians,  United  Presbyterians,  Cum- 
berland Presbyterians,  the  Reformed  Dutch  and  German 
Reformed  denominations  and  any  other  of  like  polity.  It 
was  understood  to  include  also  the  laymen  of  these  de- 
nominations. This  has  been  secured  by  amendments. 
Its  present  name  is  "The  Presbyterian  Annuity  and  Life 
Insurance  Company,"  and  it  is  located  in  Philadelphia. 
"  In  its  entire  history  it  seems  to  have  some  intimate  re- 
lation to  the  Synod  by  whose  agency  or  advice  it  was 
brought  into  existence,  and  also  to  subsequent  General 
Assemblies,  and  that  the  interest  or  relation  was  pre- 
served for  a  number  of  years,  and  so  long  as  the  sessions 
of  the  Assembly  continued  to  be  held  in  Philadelphia." 
In  1876  it  petitioned  the  Assembly  to  be  recognized,  and 
that  annual  reports  might  be  presented.  But  the  Assembly 
declined  to  undertake  such  supervision  and  endorsement, 
as  foreign  to  the  powers  belonging  to  the  Assembly.f 

*  Records  Pres.  Church,  pp.  215-217,  222,  296,  309.  f  Assembly's 

Digest,  pp.  472-477 ;  Minutes  G.  A.  1876,  pp.  72,  73 ;  1881,  pp.  524, 550. 


448  -  OF   MISSIONS. 

Wnat  other  plan  was  proposed  for  the  relief  of  disabled 
Ministers  ? 

In  1794  the  following  plan  was  sent  down  to  the  Pres- 
byteries: (1)  Each  Minister  receiving  a  salary  of  eighty 
pounds  shall  contribute  annually  thirty  shillings  to  a 
common  stock.  (2)  The  fund  shall  be  applied  to  the 
relief  of  Presbyterian  Ministers  and  their  families.  (3) 
Each  Presbytery  shall  annually  report  a  list  of  its  invalid 
Ministers  and  needy  families  of  Ministers,  with  recom- 
mendations for  aid.  (4)  Yearly  collections  shall  be  made. 
(5)  All  Ministers  in  connection  with  the  Assembly  may 
be  aided.  The  Presbyteries,  however,  while  approving 
the  object,  regarded  "  the  plan  as  inexpedient  and  im- 
proper to  be  adopted."* 

What  was  the  "Fund  for  Disabled  Ministers  and  their 
Families"? 

In  1849  the  O.  S.  Assembly  determined  to  constitute 
a  fund  for  the  support  of  the  families  of  deceased  Min- 
isters and  for  the  relief  of  aged  and  disabled  Ministers, 
by  annual  contributions  from  the  churches ;  that  the  fund 
be  placed  under  the  care  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the 
Assembly,  to  be  disbursed  by  the  Board  of  Publication 
upon  recommendation  of  the  Presbyteries;  and  that  a 
permanent  fund  be  founded  by  special  contributions  and 
legacies.  In  1852  the  duty  of  disbursing  this  fund  was 
transferred  to  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  General  As- 
sembly. The  plan  adopted  in  1849  was  endorsed  by 
several  Assemblies,  especially  in  1856,  when  a  report 
was  read  from  a  committee  appointed  the  previous  year 
to  consider  if  any  changes  were  advisable.*  In  1861 
means  were  offered  from  private  sources  to  sustain  the 
Chairman  and  Secretary  of  the  committee  on  the  fund, 
*  Assembly's  Digest,  p.  478. 


MrXISTERIAL    RELIEF.  449 

Lhat  he  might  give  the  whole  of  his  time  to  the  ciiuse. 
This  proved  a  great  blessing — so  much  so  that  notwith- 
standing forty-six  Presbyteries  withdrew  their  support 
in  consequence  of  the  civil  war,  the  contributions  to  the 
fund  increased.  The  Assembly  directed  the  attention  of 
the  Church  to  the  advisability  of  adding  constantly  to 
the  Permanent  Fund.  At  the  time  of  the  reunion  the 
Permanent  Fund  amounted  to  S24,000,  and  the  contri- 
butions from  the  churches  to  S32,772.* 

Wiat  plan  was  "the  Ministerial  Relief  Fund  "  ? 

In  1861  the  X.  S.  Assembly  appointed  a  committee 
on  the  subject  of  raising  a  fund  to  aid  disabled  Min- 
isters and  their  families.  In  1864  it  was  resolved  that 
a  fund  be  raised  by  annual  collections,  donations  and 
legacies,  to  be  called  "  the  Ministerial  Relief  Fund," 
"  for  the  relief  of  disabled  Ministers  of  good  and  regular 
standing  in  connection  with  this  body,  and  the  families 
of  Ministers  who  have  deceased  while  in  our  connection." 
This  fund  was  confided  to  the  Trustees  of  the  Presby- 
terian House,  to  be  disbursed  on  recommendations  of 
the  Presbyteries,  according  to  such  rules  as  they  may 
deem  equal  and  beneficial.  The  Trustees  were  empow- 
ered to  appoint  a  Secretary  and  prescribe  his  duties. 
Every  Presbytery  was  directed  to  appoint  a  Standing 
Committee  to  inquire  into  cases  of  need,  and  report 
them  with  recommendation  to  the  Executive  Committee 
of  the  Relief  Fund.f 

What  was  "the  Relief  Fund  for  Disabled  Ministers  and 
the  Widows  and  Orphans  of  Deceased  Ministers "  ? 

The  joint  committee  appointed  to  consider  the  af- 
fairs of  the  O.  S.  ''Fund  for  Disabled  jNIinisters  and 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  448 ;  Minutes  G.  A.  1863,  p.  102 ;  1869,  p.  986 
f  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  449. 

38 »  2D 


450  ~  OF   MISSIONS. 

their  Families,"  and  of  the  N.  S.  "  Ministerial  Relief 
Fund,"  reported  the  following,  which  was  adopted: 
The  fund  shall  be  called  "  The  Relief  Fund  for  Dis- 
abled Ministers  and  the  Widows  and  Orphans  of  De- 
ceased Ministers."  The  Trustees  of  the  Assembly  shall 
annually  elect  a  Secretary,  a  Treasurer,  and  four  of  their 
members  to  be  a  committee  to  take  charge  of  this  fund. 
All  appropriations  shall  be  made  on  the  recommendation 
of  the  Presbytery,  and  made  from  year  to  year.  The  ap- 
l)lications  must  give  full  information.  The  responsibility 
of  the  recommendations  belongs  to  the  Presbyteries,  yet 
the  committee  has  the  right  to  appropriate  according  to 
the  merits  of  each  case  and  the  state  of  the  treasury.* 

Wliat  is  the  "Presbyterian  Board  of  Relief  for  Disabled 
Ministers  and  the  Widows  and  Orphans  of  Deceased  Min- 
isters "  ? 

In  1874  the  Assembly  appointed  a  committee  of  seven 
to  inquire  into  the  expediency  of  raising  the  Committee 
on  Ministerial  Relief  to  the  position  of  a  Board,  and  to 
report  how  its  efficiency  may  be  increased.  A  report  was 
presented  the  next  year,  but  referred  to  the  Assembly  of 
1876,  when  the  proposed  change  was  ordered,  and  thus 
the  agency  was  brought  into  direct  contact  with  the  As- 
sembly and  liability  to  loss  avoided.  The  Board  met 
and  organized  in  Philadelphia  June  20,  1876,  and  ob- 
tained a  charter  the  same  year.  The  Board  consists  of 
twelve  persons  besides  the  Secretary  and  the  Treasurer.f 

In  1880  the  Assembly  declared  "that  no  appropriation 
can  be  made  to  Ministers,  in  ordinary  cases,  simply  be- 
cause they  are  poor,  unless  they  are  disabled  by  disease 
or  the  infirmities  of  age,  so  as  to  be  unable  to  sustain 

*  Presbylerian  Digest,  p.  450. 

t  Minutes  O.  A.  1874,  p.  89;  1S76,  p.  63;  1S77,  pp.  557.  070. 


FREEDMEN.  451 

themselves  by  some  suitable  employment ;"  "  that  in  or- 
dinary cases  no  appropriation  should  be  made  to  a  widow 
of  a  Minister  who  has  children  able  to  give  her  a  sup- 
port;" "that  in  the  case  of  a  Minister  who  voluntarily 
and  in  health  leaves  the  work  of  the  ministry  for  some 
secular  employment,  and  follows  that  for  a  series  of  years, 
and  then  by  failure  in  business  has  come  to  want,  such  a 
course  should  ordinarily  be  regarded  as  a  voluntary  re- 
linquishment of  all  claims  upon  the  fund  of  the  Board."  * 
In  1881  the  Assembly  directed  "  that  whenever  the  Board 
see  proper  to  decline  an  application  for  aid  the  reasons  for 
such  action  shall  be  transmitted  to  the  Presbytery  pre- 
senting the  petition."  f    Appendix,  p.  542. 

Presbyterian  Committee  of  Missions  for  Freed- 

MEN. 

What  early  action  did  the  Presbyterian  Church  take  in 
regard  to  the  colored  race  ? 

In  1774  the  Synod  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia 
received  a  request  to  send  two  natives  of  Africa  as  Mis- 
sionaries to  that  land;  this  was  granted.  The  discussion 
introduced  the  subject  of  negro  slavery,  but  no  action  was 
taken  until  1787.  The  Synod  then  declared  that  our 
people  should  "  use  the  most  prudent  measures,  consist- 
ent with  the  interest  and  the  state  of  civil  society  in  the 
counties  where  they  live,  to  procure  eventually  the  final 
abolition  of  slavery  in  America ; "  and  that  to  this  end 
those  persons  now  held  in  servitude  should  receive  a  good 
education  to  prepare  them  for  freedom,  and  that  oppor- 
tunity and  sufficient  means  be  granted  them  of  procuring 
their  own  liberty  .J     In  1800  the  Assembly,  in  system- 

*  3[inutes  G.  A.  1880,  p.  21.  f  Ibid.,  1881,  p.  521. 

X  Records  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  pp.  456,  458,  540. 


452  '  OF   MISSIONS. 

atizing  its  missionary  work,  specified  four  objects  de- 
manding attention;  one  of  which  was  "the  instruction 
of  the  negroes,  the  poor  and  those  who  are  destitute  of 
the  means  of  grace  in  various  parts  of  this  extensive 
country."  *  The  temporal  and  sjiiritual  condition  of  the 
slaves  was  constantly  considered  by  the  Assembly,  and 
the  decision  of  the  Synod  in  1787  was  frequently  re- 
iterated and  amplified,  as  in  1815,  when  the  Assembly 
declared  that  it  considered  "the  buying  and  selling  of 
slaves  by  way  of  traffic,  and  all  undue  severity  in  the 
management  of  them,  as  inconsistent  with  the  spirit  of 
the  gospel,"  and  Presbyteries  and  Sessions  were  enjoined 
"  to  make  use  of  all  prudent  measures  to  prevent  such 
shameful  and  unrighteous  conduct."  And  in  1818  the 
Assembly  unanimously  resolved,  "That  we  consider  the 
voluntary  enslaving  of  one  portion  of  the  human  race 
by  another  as  a  gross  violation  of  the  most  precious  and 
sacred  rights  of  human  nature,  as  utterly  inconsistent 
with  the  law  of  God,  .  .  .  and  as  totally  irreconcilable 
with  the  spirit  and  principles  of  the  gospel  of  Christ." 
"  We  rejoice  that  the  Church  to  which  we  belong  com- 
menced as  early  as  any  other  in  this  country  the  good 
work  of  endeavoring  to  put  an  end  to  slavery."  To 
accomplish  this,  the  Assembly  recommended  all  our 
people  to  patronize  and  encourage  the  American  Col- 
onization Society,  which  had  been  organized  in  1816, 
and  that  all  the  members  of  our  Church  "  facilitate  the 
instruction  of  the  slaves  in  the  principles  and  duties  of 
the  Christian  religion."f  One  object  specified  in  the 
subscription-paper  for  the  Assembly's  permanent  mis- 
sionary fund  (1800)  was  "the  instruction  of  tlie  black 
poople;"  and  in  1801,  John  Chavis,  a  black  man  of 
*  yl.s.spw%'.s  Diffed,  p.  312.  f  Tbid,  pp.  817-822. 


FREEDMEN.  453 

prudence  and  piety,  a  Licentiate  of  the  Presbytery  of 
Lexington,  was  commissioned  by  the  Assembly  as  a 
Missionary  among  people  of  his  own  color.  In  1807 
John  Gloucester,  a  black  man,  was  licensed  and  com- 
missioned to  the  same  work.  Ten  years  later  he  appears 
in  the  Assembly  as  a  •  member  from  the  Presbytery  of 
Philadelphia.* 

What  action  did  tlie  0,  S.  Assembly  take  ? 

The  question  whether  the  holdiug  of  slaves  is,  under 
all  circumstances,  a  heinous  sin,  agitated  all  branches  of 
the  Christian  Church.  In  1845  the  O.  S.  Assembly  said 
that  "since  Christ  and  his  inspired  Apostles  did  not  make 
the  holding  of  slaves  a  bar  to  communion,  we  as  a  court 
of  Christ  have  no  authority  to  do  so ;  since  they  did  not 
attempt  to  remove  it  from  the  Church  by  legislation,  we 
have  no  authority  to  legislate  on  the  subject."  As  the 
"Apostles  sought  to  ameliorate  the  condition  of  the 
slaves  ....  by  teaching  both  masters  and  slaves  the 
glorious  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  and  enjoining  upon 
each  the  discharge  of  their  relative  duties,  thus  only  can 
the  Church  of  Christ,  as  such,  now  improve  the  condi- 
tion of  the  slaves  in  our  country."  The  next  year  the 
Assembly  said :  "  Our  Church  has,  from  time  to  time, 
during  a  period  of  nearly  sixty  years,  expressed  its  views 
on  the  subject  of  slavery.  During  all  this  period  it  has 
held  and  uttered  substantially  the  same  sentiments;"  and 
"  that  in  the  judgment  of  this  house  the  action  of  the 
General  Assembly  of  1845  was  not  intended  to  deny  or 
rescind  the  testimony  often  uttered  by  the  General  As- 
sembly previous  to  that  date."  The  subject  was  intro- 
duced in  1849  and  in  1850  by  overtures,  but  the  ques- 
tion was  regarded  as  settled. f     In  1863  the  actions  of 

*  Assembly's  Digest,  p.  826.  f  fhid.,  pp.  823-825. 


454  OF    MISSIONS. 

1818  and  1845  were  again  declared  as  a  satisfactory  and 
full  expression  of  the  opinion  of  the  Church.*  After 
the  Emancipation  Proclamation  the  Assembly  (in  1864) 
gave  an  important  deliverance,  in  which  the  unequivocal 
and  consistent  testimonies  of  the  Church  on  this  subject 
were  reiterated,  and  the  abiding  principles  thus  expressed 
recognized.  The  Assembly  expressed  its  gratitude  that 
God  had  overruled  the  wickedness  of  the  rebellion  to 
deliver  our  country  from  the  evil  and  guilt  of  slavery, 
and  its  desire  that  this  root  of  bitterness  might  be  en- 
tirely extirpated.f 

In  1825  and  1839  the  Assembly  expressed  pleasure  at 
the  growing  attention  of  the  Church  to  the  religious  in- 
struction of  slaves,  and  declared  that  the  success  of  such 
teaching  marked  an  era  in  the  work  of  domestic  mis- 
sions. In  1847  the  interest  manifested  in  the  religious 
instruction  of  the  colored  population  was  recognized  as 
greatly  increasing.  The  work  was  continued  year  after 
year  with  growing  zeal  and  success.  The  Boards  of  Do- 
mestic Missions  and  Education  were  heartily  engaged.^ 

What  was  "the  Ashmun  Institute"  ? 

In  1853  the  Assembly,  in  answer  to  a  memorial  from 
the  Presbytery  of  New  Castle,  resolved,  "  That  the  es- 
tablishment of  a  high  school  for  the  use  and  benefit  of 
the  free  colored  population  of  this  country  meets  the 
cordial  approbation  and  recommendation  of  this  Assem- 
bly, with  the  understanding  that  it  shall  be  wholly  under 
the  supervision  and  control  of  the  Presbytery  or  Synod 
within  whose  boimds  it  may  be  located,  thus  securing 
such  an  education  as  shall  promote  the  usefulness  and 
happiness  of  this  class  of  our  people."  §     It  was  located 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  (O.S.)  1S63,  p.  55.  f  Ibid.,  186 Jf,  pp.  296-299. 

I  Assembly's  Digest,  pp.  827,  828.  ^  Ibid.,  p.  829.    See  p.  314. 


FREEDMEN.  455 

near  Oxford,  Pa.,  and  called  "  the  Ashmun  Institute," 
in  commemoration  of  Jehudi  Ashmun,  an  agent  of  the 
American  Colonization  Society  who  took  charge  in  1822 
of  a  reinforcement  for  the  colony  of  Liberia.  He  found 
the  colony  disorganized  and  imperiled.  He  saved  its 
existence,  and  left  it  in  1828  prosperous.  He  died 
soon  after  his  return.*  The  Assembly  frequently 
recommended  to  the  churches  this  institute,  as  "the 
only  seminary  in  the  country  which  has  for  its 
object  the  education  of  colored  men  for  the  gospel 
ministry."  In  1859  it  sent  out  three  Missionaries  to 
Africa  as  the  first-fruits  of  this  seminary.f 

What  is  Lincoln  University  ? 

By  the  Legislature  of  Pennsylvania  the  charter  of  the 
Ashmun  Institute  was  in  1866  enlarged,  and  its  name 
changed  to  "  the  Lincoln  University,"  continuing  under 
the  care  of  the  Presbytery  of  New  Castle.| 

What  is  "the  Biddle  Memorial  Institute"  ? 

The  Presbytery  of  Catawba  appointed  Rev.  S.  C. 
Alexander  to  establish  a  theological  class  at  Charlotte, 
N.  C,  for  the  training  of  freedmen  as  Catechists  and 
Ministers.  A  lady  in  Philadelphia  furnished  the  means 
for  the  buildings,  and  the  institute,  in  honor  of  her  hus- 
band, who  died  in  the  civil  war,  was  called  "  the  Biddle 
Memorial  Institute."  § 

What  was  "  the  Wallingford  Academy  "  ? 

This  was  established  in  1868  ;  the  site  for  buildings  in 
Charleston,  S.  C,  was  given  by  Mrs.  E.  G.  Wallingford 
of  Pittsburg.     Its  object  was  to  prepare  colored  teachers. 

*  American  Oydopcedia, 

t  Minutes  G.  A.{O.S.)  1859,  p.  524;  1S63,  p.  50. 

i  Ibid.,  1866,  p.  76.     See  p.  314. 

I  Ibid.,  1867,  p.  447.    See  p.  315. 


456  OF   MISSIONS. 

At  the  end  of  the  first  year  this  academy  had  over  three 
hundred  pupils.* 

What  were  "  the  General  Assembly's  Committees  for  the 
Education  of  Freedmen  "  ? 

In  examining  the  report  of  the  Board  of  Education  to 
the  O.  S.  Assembly  in  1864,  attention  was  called  to  "the 
large  number  of  the  African  race,  known  as  'freedmen,'" 
being  in  great  moral  and  intellectual  destitution.  The 
whole  subject  was  referred  to  a  committee,  who  reported 
the  following  plan  for  the  religious  instruction  of  the 
freedmen;  which  was  adopted.  The  work  Avas  evidently 
of  such  magnitude  that  it  could  not  be  conducted  by  the 
Board  of  Education.  "  The  Presbyterian  Church  must 
be  true  to  its  historic  doctrine  and  faith ;  that  the  hope 
of  the  African  race,  under  God,  is  in  Christian  educa- 
tion;" and  that  God  is  by  his  providence  calling  upon 
our  Church  to  do  what  it  can  for  the  elevation  and  sal- 
vation of  this  downtrodden  and  long-abused  people. 
It  was  resolved  that  two  committees  be  appointed,  of 
two  Ministers  and  three  laymen  each,  one  in  Philadel- 
phia and  one  in  Indianapolis,  to  be  called  "  the  General 
Assembly's  Committees  for  the  Education  of  Freedmen." 
These  shall  co-operate,  having  oversight  of  the  work, 
appointing  Teachers  and  Ministers,  upon  the  endorse- 
ment of  Presbyteries,  but  not  interfering  with  the  Board 
of  Domestic  Missions,  establishing  schools,  determining  the 
books,  etc.  to  be  used,  and  obtaining  funds  for  the  work. 
These  committees  were  to  report  directly  to  the  Assembly. 
And  the  Board  of  Publication  was  directed  to  furnish, 
gratis,  at  its  discretion,  such  of  its  publications  as  may 
be  used  for  the  evangelization  of  the  fi-eedmen.f 

*  3Imutes  G.  A.  (0.  S.)  1869,  p.  990. 
t  Ibid.,  1864,  pp.  274,  321-323. 


FREEDMEN.  457 

What  was  "  the  General  Assembly's  Committee  on  Freed- 
men"? 

To  increase  the  efficiency  of  this  new  temporary  agency, 
the  O.  S.  Assembly  determined  in  1865  to  substitute  one 
committee  for  the  two  appointed  the  previous  year.  It 
was  located  at  Pittsburg,  and  consisted  of  nine  Ministers 
and  nine  laymen.  It  received  similar  powers  to  those 
granted  to  the  two  committees,  and  was  ordered  to 
transfer,  as  soon  as  possible,  to  the  Boards  of  the 
Church,  such  parts  of  their  work  as  may  belong  to  the 
specific  objects  of  these  several  Boards.  The  next  year, 
because  of  the  magnitude  and  importance  of  the  work, 
six  members  were  added  to  the  committee,  which  was 
empowered  to  conduct  its  business  by  an  Executive 
Committee.  At  the  time  of  the  reunion  this  commit- 
tee had  organized  72  churches,  had  under  its  care 
5634  communicants,  had  gathered  4723  children  ia 
Sabbath-schools  and  over  3000  in  day-schools.  It 
had  three  institutes  in  the  Southern  States  preparing 
Teachers  and  Ministers,  and  Ireld  property  worth 
$66,680.* 

What  action  did  the  N.  S.  Assembly  take  ? 

The  N.  S.  Assembly  in  1839  referred  the  subject  of 
slavery  to  the  lower  judicatories^  to  take  such  action  as 
they  might  deem  most  judicious  and  adapted  to  remove 
the  evil.  No  other  action  was  taken  until  1846,  when 
the  Assembly  said  that  "whil-e  we  feel  bound  to  bear 
our  testimony  against  slavery,  and  to  exhort  our  beloved 
brethren  to  remove  it  from  them  as  speedily  as  possible  by 
all  appropriate  and  available  means,  .  .  .  yet  as  a  court  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  we  possess  no  legislative  authority, 
and  as  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  [0.  S.)  1865,  p.  543;  1866,  p.  77 ;  1860,  p.  939. 
39 


458  '  OF   MISSIONS. 

we  possess  no  judicial  power."  "We  must  therefore 
leave  this  matter  with  the  Sessions  and  Presbyteries  and 
Synods,  ...  to  act  in  the  administration  of  discipline 
as  they  may  judge  it  to  be  their  duty,  constitutionally 
subject  to  the  General  Assembly  only  in  the  way  of 
general  review  and  control."  In  1849  nineteen  docu- 
ments on  the  subject  of  slavery  were  presented,  and  the 
Assembly  reiterated  the  actions  of  1818  and  1846,  as 
including  the  following  principles :  (1)  Civil  liberty  is 
man's  right.  (2)  Slavery  "is  intrinsically  an  unright- 
eous and  oppressive  system,"  and  injurious  to  all  con- 
cerned in  it.  (3)  It  is  the  duty  of  all  Christians  "as 
speedily  as  possible  to  efface  this  blot  on  our  holy  re- 
ligion, and  to  obtain  the  complete  abolition  of  slavery." 
(4)  Where  it  cannot  be  removed  at  once,  direct  religious 
instruction  and  practical  knowledge  of  life  should  be 
given  to  prepare  the  slave  for  emancipation.  (5)  Traffic 
in  slaves,  undue  severity  and  breaking  up  families  should 
be  corrected  by  church  discipline.  In  1850  the  holding 
of  slaves,  except  where  it  is  unavoidable  by  State  laws, 
was  declared  to  be  an  offence  subject  to  discipline.  In 
1853  the  Assembly  required  the  Presbyteries  to  rejwrt 
the  next  year  (1)  the  number  of  slaveholders  in  connec- 
tion with  the  churches,  and  the  number  of  their  slaves ; 

(2)  how  far  these  slaves  are  held  by  unavoidable  necessity; 

(3)  are  the  Southern  churches  showing  a  practical  regard 
to  the  religious  well-being  of  the  slaves?  In  1855  a 
pastoral  letter  to  all  the  churches  was  sent,  reaffirming 
the  former  deliverances,  and  a  committee  was  appointed  to 
report  to  the  next  Assembly  on  the  constitutional  author- 
ity of  the  Assembly  over  the  subject  of  slaveholding  in 
our  churches.  This  committee  reported  in  1856  that  the 
Assembly  "  has  no  power  to  commence  a  process  of  dis- 


FREEDMEN.  459 

cipline  with  an  individual  offender,"  and  that  "in  the  way 
of  general  review  and  control  it  can  reach  directly  only  the 
judicatory  next  below;  that  is,  the  Synod."  Besides,  the 
Assembly  has  "the  testifying  and  reproving  function  so 
often  exercised  in  time  past."  The  next  year  the  Assem- 
bly rehearsed  its  former  deliverances,  and  expressed  grief 
at  the  discovery  that  a  portion  of  the  Church  at  the  South 
had  put  forth  a  new  doctrine,  that  slavery  was  an  ordinance 
of  God,  and  as  existing  in  this  country  was  both  right 
and  scriptural.  This  was  declared  to  be  at  war  with  the 
whole  spirit  of  the  gospel  and  abhorrent  to  the  conscience 
of  the  Christian  world.  The  Presbytery  of  Lexington, 
South,  was  called  upon  to  review  and  rectify  their  posi- 
tion, as  "  such  doctrines  and  practice  cannot  be  perma- 
nently tolerated  in  the  Presbyterian  Church."  Against 
this  action  a  solemn  protest  was  offered  and  placed  on 
the  minutes.  The  signers  declared  the  action  of  the 
Assembly  to  be  a  virtual  exscinding  of  the  South,  the 
exercise  of  usurped  power,  destructive  of  the  unity  of 
the  Church,  hurtful  to  North  and  South,  and  imperiling 
the  union  of  these  United  States,  The  answer  to  this 
protest  is  recorded.  When  the  Assembly  met  the  next 
year,  six  Southern  Synods  were  not  represented,  they 
having  organized  in  the  mean  while  "  the  United  Synod 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church."* 

What  was  "  the  Freedmen's  Department  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian Committee  of  Home  Missions  "  ? 

This  department  was  organized  in  1865,  and  the  work 
committed  to  it  and  its  mode  of  operation  were  very  sim- 
ilar to  those  confided  by  the  O.  S.  Assembly  to  its  Com- 
mittees on  Freedmen.f     At  the  time  of  reunion  it  had 

*  New  Digest,  pp.  275-295,  564-568.    See  p.  270. 
t  See  p.  456. 


460  ~  OP   MISSIONS. 

13  Missionaries  and  185  teachers,  93  schools  and  about 
4000  pupils.* 

Wliat  is  "the  Presbyterian  Committee  of  Missions  for 
Freedmen  "  ? 

At  the  reunion  the  Assembly's  Committee  on  Freed- 
men and  the  Freedmen's  Department  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian Committee  of  Home  Missions  continued  their  work 
until  the  reorganization  was  completed.  It  was  deter- 
mined that  the  whole  work  of  our  Church  for  the  re- 
ligious and  educational  interest  of  the  colored  race  in 
this  country  be  conducted  by  a  committee  of  twelve 
persons,  located  in  Pittsburg,  to  be  known  as  the  "Pres- 
byterian Committee  of  Missions  for  Freedmen."  To  it 
were  transferred  all  documents,  moneys  and  properties 
previously  held  by  the  Committee  on  Freedmen  and  the 
Freedmen's  Department.  The  Boards  of  the  Church 
were  recommended  to  co-operate  with  it  in  conducting 
its  work.  The  committee  was  recommended  to  look  for 
a  supply  of  competent  colored  Ministers  and  Teachers  for 
the  institutions  established  by  our  Church,  and  the  ne- 
cessity of  providing  schools  in  which  females  may  enjoy 
similar  advantages  was  urged  upon  the  attention  of  the 
committee.f  In  1874  the  Assembly  ordered  that  this 
committee  "  shall  continue  as  at  present  located  and  con- 
stituted for  the  period  of  five  years,  during  which  period 
its  affairs  shall  be  conducted  with  a  view  to  the  final 
merging  of  the  committee  with  the  Board  of  Home 
Missions,  and  as  soon  as  possible  the  churches  under 
the  care  of  the  committee  shall  be  transferred  to  the 
Board."!  In  1878  it  was  found  that  some  interpreted 
this  act  as  ordering  the  transfer  to  the  Board  of  Home 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  1870,  p.  104.  f  Presbijterian  Digest,  p.  451, 

X  Minutes  G.  A.  1874,  V-  44. 


FREEDMEN.  461 

Missions  of  the  work  of  the  committee,  which  should 
then  be  dissolved ;  and  others  understood  it  as  requiring 
only  the  transfer  of  mission  churches  to  the  Board,  while 
the  committee  should  continue  to  supervise  the  educa- 
tional work  in  all  its  details.  In  January  the  commit- 
tee had  transferred  to  the  Board  80  churches,  27  Minis- 
ters and  2  Catechists,  and  retained  under  their  care  56 
churches,  22  Ministers  and  25  Catechists,  and  the  entire 
work  of  evangelical  education.  The  Assembly  consid- 
ered the  two  views  above  mentioned,  the  condition  of  the 
work,  and  overtures  from  one  Synod  and  two  Presbyte- 
ries in  the  Southern  States  pleading  for  the  continuance 
of  the  committee,  and  determined  "  that  the  work  as  at 
present  carried  on  by  the  Presbyterian  Committee  of 
Missions  for  Freedmen  be  continued,"  and  that  it  be 
earnestly  commended  to  the  prayers  and  liberality  of 
the  churches.*  The  next  year  the  question  was  again 
considered,  and  the  Assembly  refused  by  a  large  vote  to 
transfer  the  work  to  the  Board  of  Home  Missions  and 
discontinue  the  committee,  declaring  that  the  reasons 
which  actuated  the  Assembly  in  1878  were  still  cogent, 
and  the  work  too  important  to  be  jeopardized  by  an  ex- 
periment.f  Appendix,  p.  543. 
What  schools  are  under  the  care  of  this  committee  ? 
I.  Chartered  Institutions: 
Biddle  University,  Charlotte,  N.  C.J 
Wallingford  Academy,  Charleston,  S.  C.J 
Scotia  Seminary,  Concord,  N.  C.  Its  design  is  "  to 
educate  colored  girls  in  religion  and  in  the  arts  and  sci- 
ences usually  taught  in  seminaries  of  a  high  order,  and 
in  those  domestic  duties  which   belong  to  the    highest 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  1878,  pp.  74-81.  f  Ibid.,  1879,  pp.  592,  597. 

t  See  p.  455. 
39  * 


462  '  OF   MISSIONS. 

type  of  wife,  mother  and  teacher."  Its  location  was 
chosen  by  the  Freedmen's  Committee.  Its  funds  were 
contributed  chiefly  by  Mr.  Matthe\s'  Scott  of  Ohio.  It 
has  accommodations  for  thirty-two  boarders,  and  receives 
a  large  number  of  day-scholars.* 

II.  Normal  Schools.  From  the  first  the  committee 
have  paid  special  attention  to  the  training  of  the  freed- 
men  to  be  teachers  to  their  own  race.  The  pupils  in  the 
schools,  when  prepared,  were  employed  during  their  va- 
cations in  teaching  in  Sabbath-  and  day-schools.  This 
idea  has  gradually  received  more  attention.  Certain 
schools  were  designated  as  training-schools.  These  were 
afterward  called  "  normal  schools."  f 

Brainerd  Institute,  Chester,  S.  C,  organized  in  1869. 
Fairfield  Normal  School,  Winnsboro',  S.  C,  for  boys 
and  girls,  organized  in  1869. 

Bluffton  Institute,  S.  C,  organized  in  1878.J 

III.  Graded  Schools: 

Medway  Graded  School,  in  Liberty  co.,  Ga.,  organ- 
ized in  1874. 

Greensboro'  Graded  School,  Greensboro',  N.  C,  organ- 
ized in  1868  as  a  parochial  school,  but  in  1874  made  a 
graded  school,  having  two  departments,  white  and  col- 
ored. 

Columbia  Graded  School,  Columbia,  Tenn.,  organ- 
ized in  1866,  and  at  first  called  the  Columbia  Graded 
School. § 

IV.  Common  Parochial  Schools.  These  are  schools 
under  the  supervision  of  the  Sessions  of  particular 
churches,  aided  by  the  committee.  They  teach  the  ordi- 
nary branches,  preparing  pupils  for  the  graded  schools. 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  1872,  p.  159.         f  Ibid.,  1874,  P-  l-^-l ;  iS80,  p.  165, 
X  Ibid.,  1878,  p.  201.  g  Ibid.,  1878,  p.  204. 


SUSTENTATION.  463 

[u  1878  there  were  37,  and  in  1881,  94  parochial  schools, 
under  the  care  of  the  committee.* 

While  these  schools  are  intended  primarily  for  the 
freedmen,  they  are  open  to  the  white  as  well  as  col- 
ored people.  "The  whole  system  of  church  and  school, 
as  considered  by  the  committee,  knows  no  exclusion  of 
persons  on  account  of  color."  f 

In  1881  the  Assembly  endorsed  "the  efiPorts  to  secure 
the  erection  of  a  building  at  Franklinton,  N.  C,  for  the 
use  of  the  State  Normal  School,  provided  the  means  for 
that  purpose  can  be  expended  under  the  direction  of  the 
committee,  and  the  title  to  the  property  secured  be  in- 
vested in  the  Trustees  of  the  Assembly."! 

SUSTENTATION    FUND. 

What  was  the  origin  of  this  scheme  ? 

In  1870  the  Assembly  received  several  overtures  on 
the  subject,  and  certain  documents  concerning  the  Scottish 
Sustentation  Fund.  These  were  referred  to  a  committee, 
which  reported  the  next  year — a  very  valuable  paper, 
setting  forth  the  necessity  of  some  scheme  to  assist  Pas- 
tors whose  salaries  are  insufficient.  Three  plans  were  de- 
scribed: (l)Thatof  the  Free  Kirk  of  Scotland — "acommon 
fund,  share  and  share  alike,  with  supplements  ad  libitum 
in  the  wealthier  charges;"  (2)  that  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Ireland,  the  endowment  scheme — a  permanent 
sustentation  fund,  the  annual  income  of  which  should  be 
sufficient  for  the  purpose  ;  (3)  that  of  the  United  Pres- 
byterian Church  of  Scotland — supplementary  aid.  This 
last  was  recommended  and  adopted. § 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  1878,  p.  73 ;  1880,  pp.  165-167 ;  1881,  p.  524. 
t  Ibid.,  1876,  p.  41.  X  Ibid.,  1881,  p.  526. 

I  Ibid.,  1870,  p.  28 ;  1871,  pp.  556-564. 


464  ^  OF    MISSIONS 

What  is  the  scheme  of  sustentation  ? 

1.  All  charges  shall  be  divided  into  two  classes: 
Full  pastoral  charges,  the  Pastors  receiving  a  salary  of 
at  least  $500,  and  church  extension  (mission)  charges, 
having  Stated  Supplies  or  Pastors  receiving  less  than 
$500.  The  former  only  shall  come  under  the  scheme 
for  aid;  the  latter  shall  apply  to  the  Board  of  Home 
Missions. 

2.  The  aim  shall  be  to  make  the  minimum  of  salary 
in  the  full  pastoral  charges  $1000. 

3.  Only  those  churches  shall  be  aided  who  are  pay- 
ing the  Pastor  an  average  of  $7.30  per  annum  for  each 
member. 

4.  Each  Presbytery  is  required  to  investigate  the  case 
of  all  churches  of  200  members  who  may  be  paying  less 
than  $1000  salary. 

5.  Each  church  applying  for  aid  shall  appoint  a  com- 
mittee, who  shall  carry  out  a  plan  of  weekly  or  monthly 
contributions  to  this  and  to  all  the  Boards  of  the 
Church. 

6.  All  churches  shall  adopt  some  plan  of  systematic 
contributions  reaching  every  person. 

7.  Each  Pastor  shall  aid  to  secure  from  his  people  an 
amount  equal  to  at  least  one-twentieth  of  his  salary  an- 
nually, to  aid  this  scheme. 

8.  Each  church  shall  report  to  the  Assembly  the  salary 
paid  its  Pastor. 

9.  The  Presbyteries  shall  examine  carefully  every  ap- 
plication for  aid  under  this  scheme. 

10.  A  Central  Committee  of  seven,  with  a  Secretary, 
shall  be  yearly  appointed  by  the  Assembly  to  superintend 
the  operations  and  further  the  great  object.* 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  452-455, 


SUSTENTATION.  465 

What  was  "the  General  Assembly's  Committee  on  Minis- 
terial Sustentation"  ? 

This  was  the  name  given  to  the  Central  Committee  of 
seven  described  above.  Rev.  M.  W.  Jacobus,  D.D.,  was 
its  Secretary.  It  was  organized  at  Pittsburg,  September 
13, 1871.  The  aid  granted  by  the  committee  to  churches 
was  understood  to  be  for  a  limited  time — for  one,  two 
or  three  years.  The  conditions  of  aid  were — (1)  actual 
installation  of  Pastor ;  (2)  salary  at  least  $500 ;  (3)  aver- 
age of  at  least  $7.30  per  member,  exclusive  of  manse ; 
(4)  endorsement  of  Presbytery ;  (5)  no  reduction  of  sal- 
ary from  preceding  year ;  (6)  church's  salary  to  be  first 
paid  in  full,  and  reported  quarterly;  (7)  advance  pay- 
ment to  the  committee  of  one-twentieth  of  church  salary; 
(8)  systematic  giving  (by  envelope  or  collectors)  to  all  the 
Boards ;  (9)  no  aid  to  atljacent  churches  without  consol- 
idation. The  Pastor  could  bear  no  help  in  these  condi- 
tions. For  the  second  year  a  new  application  as  above 
is  required,  and  satisfactory  evidence  must  be  given  of 
advance  toward  self-sustentation.* 

What  is  "  the  Sustentation  Department  of  the  Board  of 
Home  Missions  "  ? 

In  1874  a  plan  was  adopted  for  the  consolidation  of 
the  Boards.  The  Board  of  Home  Missions  shall  have 
two  departments,  that  of  Home  Missions  and  that  of 
Sustentation.  The  claims  of  these  shall  be  presented 
to  the  churches  for  separate  collections.  The  churches 
aided  by  the  Board  shall  come  under  the  scheme  of 
sustentation  as  soon  as  the  Board  and  the  Presbytery 
shall  judge  they  are  able.  No  rhurch  shall  continue 
under  the  Home  Mission  department  for  more  than 
five  years,  unless  for  special  reasons  satisfactory  to  the 

*  Mi7iutes  G.  A.  1872,  p.  ICO;  187S,  p.  632. 
2  E 


466  OF    MISSIONS. 

Presbytery.*  In  1875  the  Assembly  ordered  that  the 
churches  aided  by  this  departmeDt  be  divided  into  two 
classes :  (1)  Mission  pastorates,  in  which  one  or  more 
churches  constitute  a  pastoral  relation,  and  contribute 
for  the  support  of  the  Pastor  a  sum  equal  to  at  least 
an  average  of  $7.30  per  member;  the  minimum  salary 
is  determined  by  the  Board  and  the  Presbytery;  and 
(2)  Sustentation  pastorates,  consisting  of  one  or  more 
churches  with  a  house  of  worship,  with  a  Pastor  in- 
stalled, the  contributions  for  his  support  amounting, 
exclusive  of  manse,  to  a  sum  equal  to  an  av^erage  of  at 
least  $7.30  per  member,  and  not  less  than  $700.  They 
shall  increase  at  the  rate  of  $50  annually  toward  self- 
support,  unless  Presbytery  deem  it  impossible.  The 
Board  will  increase  the  salary  to  $1000.  Applications 
must  be  endorsed  by  Presbytery,  and  assurance  given 
that  collections  are  taken  for  all  the  Boards.  Few 
churches,  however,  were  able  to  fulfill  the  conditions. 
Many  who  had  received  aid  were  unable  to  pledge  an 
advance  of  $50  on  a  new  application,  and  therefore  left 
the  department  in  despair,  though  the  treasury  had  a 
large  unappropriated  balance.  Several  overtures  were 
presented  to  the  Assembly  proposing  modifications,  and 
many  asking  that  sustentation  be  re-established  as  a  sep- 
arate scheme  in  the  benevolent  work  of  the  Church.f 
In  1878  the  following  changes  were  adopted :  (1)  The 
separate  departments  of  the  Board  of  Home  Missions  be 
discontinued,  and  the  two  treasuries  consolidated.  (2) 
The  churches  receiving  aid  be  divided  into  two  classes — 
the  sustentation  pastorates  and  mission  charges.  (3)  The 
conditions  to  the  sustentation  pastorates :  a  regular  pas- 
toral relation,  annual  collections  for  all  the  Boards,  a 
*  Minutes  O.  A.  1874,  p.  44.  f  Ibid.,  1876,  p.  60 ;  1877,  p.  640. 


SUSTENTATION.  467 

contribution  of  at  least  $600  in  money  toward  the  salary 
(such  contribution  averaging  not  less  than  $6.50  for  each 
member)  and  a  recommendation  from  Presbytery.  The 
Board  shall  then  supplement  the  salary  so  as  to  make  it 
at  least  $900,  which  shall  include  the  estimated  rent  of 
the  house.  This  must  not  interfere  with  the  grouping 
of  feeble  churches.  The  conditions  to  a  mission  charge : 
it  may  consist  of  one  or  more  churches,  the  Minister  and 
his  charge  must  belong  to  the  same  Presbytery,  annual 
collections  taken  for  all  the  Boards,  and  recommendation 
from  the  Presbytery ;  the  amount  of  aid  to  be  deter- 
mined by  the  Presbytery  and  Board.  No  church  in 
either  class  shall  receive  aid  for  more  than  five  years, 
except  in  special  cases.  The  Board  shall  continue  to 
commission  Missionaries  to  new  and  destitute  fields 
where  no  church  has  been  organized.  The  fund, 
which  in  1878  amounted  to  $44,879.50,  was  ordered 
to  be  used  only  for  sustentation  pastorates,  and  all  the 
churches  were  recommended  "to  take  separate  collec- 
tions for  sustentation  pastorates,  and  transmit  the  same 
to  the  Treasurer  of  the  Board  of  Home  Missions."* 
In  1880  the  Assembly  adopted  the  report  of  a  commit- 
tee, declaring  that  "  this  plan  of  sustentation  has  been  of 
great  service  to  the  Church  in  many  ways,  and  our  people 
will  not  willingly  let  it  come  to  naught."  Presbyteries 
were  urged  "  to  take  prompt  and  efficient  measures  to 
replenish  this  fund."t 

What  objects  are  to  be  accomplished  by  this  scheme? 

"  It  aimed  primarily  at  a  better  support  of  the  min- 
istry in  our  feeble  churches,"  and  to  advance  these 
churches  to  be  self-supporting. J     In  1878  the  ends  de- 

*  Minutes  O.  A,  1878,  pp.  43,  72.  f  Ibid.,  1880,  p.  32. 

X  Ibid.,  1873,  p.  631. 


468  OF   MISSIONS. 

signed  to  be  accomplished  were  stated  to  be  "  the  more 
general  establishment  of  the  pastoral  office  and  the  better 
support  of  the  ministry.*  In  the  report  in  1880  the 
Board  of  Home  Missions  says:  "The  original  idea  of  the 
sustentation  scheme  was  to  aiford  a  larger  salary  under 
sustentation  than  under  Home  Missions  to  such  churches 
only  as  showed  good  promise  of  early  reaching  self-sup- 
port. The  Church  never  proposed  to  have  two  schemes 
that  would  discriminate  between  men  of  the  same  abil- 
ities and  churches  in  the  same  condition,  and  aid  one 
more  than  the  other.  The  larger  aid  was  granted  on 
sustentation  only  in  the  expectation  that  such  a  church 
would  reach  self-support  much  sooner  than  an  ordinary 
Home  Mission  church."  f 

What  action  was  taken  in  1881  ? 

The  following  resolution  was  adopted :  "  In  view  of 
the  small  amount  of  information  before  the  Assembly  in 
reference  to  sustentation,  and  the  known  fact  that  but 
a  small  proportion  of  the  churches  contribute  to  the 
cause ;  therefore  be  it  Resolved,  That  the  Committee  of 
Fifteen  to  consider  and  report  upon  the  relations  of  the 
Presbyteries  to  the  Board  of  Home  Missions  be  instruct- 
ed to  inquire  into,  and  report  to  the  next  Assembly, 
concerning  the  conditions  and  workings  of  sustentation 
as  a  benevolent  agency  of  the  Church,  with  a  view  to 
either  increasing  the  efficiency  of  the  same  or  dropping 
it  altogether  from  the  list."  J  The  consideration  of  the 
following  resolution  was  postponed  to  the  next  General 
Assembly:  "Having  regard  to  the  numbers  of  our 
Ministers,  the  large  increase  in  the  expense  of  living, 
their  limited  incomes,  and  the  inadequacy  thus  far  of  all 

»  Minutes  G.  A.  187S,  p.  43.  f  Ibid.,  1S80,  p.  134. 

%  Ibid.,  1881,  p.  593. 


TEMPEEANCE.  469 

our  efforts  to  provide  fully  for  the  exigences  to  which  they 
and  their  families  may  be  reduced,  be  it  Resolved,  That 
this  whole  matter  be  committed  to  a  special  committee,  to 
consider  it  in  all  its  bearings,  and  report  to  the  next  Gen- 
eral Assembly  on  the  practicability  of  extending  existing 
agencies  or  adopting  a  new  method  enabling  Ministers, 
especially  those  who  are  entering  on  their  work,  to  provide 
in  a  measure  for  their  own  households  in  the  event  of  their 
removal  or  their  being  disabled."  *  Appendix,  pp.  542, 
545. 

Temperance. 

What  action  has  the  Assembly  taken  on  Temperance  ? 

In  1811  a  committee  was  appointed  to  devise  meas- 
ures to  prevent  some  of  the  mischief  which  was  expe- 
rienced from  the  use  of  spirituous  liquors.  Their  report 
was  adopted,  requiring  Ministers  to  preach  often  on  the 
sin  of  intemperance,  and  to  warn  against  the  habits  which 
tend  to  produce  it.  The  Sessions  were  enjoined  to  ex- 
ercise special  vigilance  over  communicants  in  regard 
to  this  sin,  and  to  endeavor  by  private  warnings  and 
public  censure  "  to  purge  the  Church  of  a  sin  so 
enormous  in  its  mischiefs  and  so  disgraceful  to  the 
Christian  name;"  and  the  officers  and  members  were 
urged  to  labor  to  reduce  the  number  of  taverns  and  other 
places  for  the  sale  of  liquor.  In  1818  a  pastoral  letter  was 
issued  on  the  subject.  In  1827  it  was  Resolved,  "That 
the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States  will,  with 
all  readiness  of  mind,  co-operate  with  their  Christian 
brethren  of  every  denomination,  together  with  every 
friend  of  our  country  and  of  humanity,  in  one  great 
national  effort  to  accomplish  a  universal  change  in  the 
habits  and  customs  of  our  country  relative  to  the  intem- 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  ISSl,  p.  592. 
40 


470  OF   MISSIONS. 

perate  use  of  Intoxicating  liquors."  This  was  in  rela- 
tion to  the  formation  of  the  American  Society  for  the 
Promotion  of  Temperance.  A  day  of  fasting  and  prayer 
was  appointed  in  1828.  In  1829  and  1830  the  Assem- 
bly rejoiced  in  the  increased  numbers  and  success  of  tem- 
perance societies,  and  urged  their  formation  in  each  con- 
gregation, on  the  principle  of  entire  abstinence  from  the 
use  of  ardent  spirits.  The  N.  S.  Assembly  in  1840, 
1864  and  1866  reiterated  the  approbation  of  temperance 
societies,  protested  against  forms  and  fashions  which 
countenanced  intemperance,  urged  all  to  refrain  from 
cider,  beer  and  ale  as  a  beverage,  and  the  manufacture 
and  use  of  domestic  wines,  and  declared  "  that  total  ab- 
stinence from  all  intoxicating  drinks  as  a  beverage  is 
demanded  from  every  Christian  by  the  condition  of  so- 
ciety, the  purity  of  the  Church  and  the  word  of  God." 
In  1865  the  O.  S.  Assembly  uttered  a  similar  deliver- 
ance, and  adopted  a  paper  expressing  the  views  of  the 
Assembly  on  intemperance,  the  manufacture  and  sale  of 
ardent  spirits  and  the  liability  to  church  discipline  of 
those  who  make  or  sell  intoxicating  drinks.  The  As- 
sembly did  not  "sanction  the  adoption  of  any  new  terms 
of  communion,"  but  asserted  that  "  the  practice  of  manu- 
facturing and  retailing  intoxicating  drinks  as  a  beverage 
is  a  sin  against  the  brethren  and  against  Christ,  and  while 
persevered  in  vitiates  this  evidence  (of  Christian  char- 
acter) and  works  a  forfeiture  of  the  privileges  of  the 
Christian  communion."  The  reunited  Church  in  1871 
reiterated  the  testimonies  of  former  Assemblies,  which 
the  Board  of  Publication  were  ordered  to  print  in  ab- 
stract and  send  to  all  our  Ministers.*  Every  year  the 
Assembly  has  passed  like  resolutions  on  this  subject. 
*  Presbyterian  Dir/est,  pp.  483-493. 


TEMPERANCE.  471 

Wliat  is  "  the  Permanent  Committee  on  Temperance  "  ? 

In  1880,  in  answer  to  an  overture,  a  special  commit- 
tee of  nine  was  appointed  to  whom  was  referred  tlie 
question  of  a  Permanent  Committee  of  the  Assembly 
on  Temperance,  to  report  the  next  year.  They  recom- 
mended that  the  "Assembly  appoint  a  Permanent  Com- 
mittee on  Temperance,  which  shall  consist  of  fifteen 
members — eight  Ministers  and  seven  laymen — a  ma- 
jority of  whom  shall  reside  in  and  near ,  who 

shall  hold  their  first  meeting  in  that  city  on  the  second 
Tuesday  of  June  next,  and  then  and  there  divide  by  lot 
into  three  separate  sections  of  five  each,  to  hold  office 
for  one,  two  and  three  years;  their  successors  to  be 
appointed  each  year  for  a  term  of  three  years  by  the 
General  Assembly ;  the  said  committee  to  adopt  their 
own  by-laws,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  Assembly." 

"  The  duty  of  this  Permanent  Committee  shall  be  to 
seek  to  quicken  and  to  unite  our  Synods  and  churches 
in  suitable  measures  for  promoting  the  temperance  re- 
form ;  to  mature  and  report  action  on  the  subject  to  the 
General  Assembly ;  to  gather  and  report  such  statistics 
as  may  be  of  value  and  interest  to  the  Church ;  to  call 
attention  to  the  deliverances  of  the  Assembly  on  tem- 
perance, and  recommend  to  the  Board  of  Publication 
the  issue  of  suitable  works  on  the  subject;  to  codify 
the  previous  acts  of  the  Assembly  on  temperance  for 
publication  by  the  Board;  and  to  initiate  measures  for 
promoting  similar  action  by  other  branches  of  the  evan- 
gelical Church.  The  expense  of  such  publications  shall 
be  borne  by  the  Board.  Other  expenses  of  this  com- 
mittee, to  the  amount  of  $250  annually,  if  not  otherwise 
provided  for,/ shall  be  paid  from  the  treasury  of  the 
General  Assembly."    This  recommendation  was  adopted, 


472  OF   MISSIONS. 

and  the  blank  was  filled  with  the  city  of  New  York.* 
This  is  a  new  departure.  All  the  other  Boards  or  Per- 
manent Committees  are  for  the  general  work  of  the 
Church,  the  Assembly  having  refrained  from  appoint- 
ing them  in  regard  to  special  sins  or  virtues.  This 
same  Assembly  (1881)  refused  to  appoint  a  Permanent 
Committee  on  the  Sabbath,  though  overtured  to  do  so 
by  a  Presbytery  and  the  International  Sabbath-school 
Association,  and  referred  to  the  action  of  the  previous 
year,  in  which  a  similar  petition  from  three  Presbyteries 
was  denied,  on  the  ground  that  it  is  not  expedient  to 
multiply  Permanent  Committees,  and  the  Assembly  can 
itself  better  discharge  the  duty.f     Appendix,  p.  546. 

Committee  on  Manses. 

What  were  the  early  efforts  of  the  Churcli  to  secure 
Manses? 

In  1766  the  Synod  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia 
ordered  "  that  in  every  congregation  a  committee  be  ap- 
pointed, who  shall  twice  in  every  year  collect  the  Minis- 
ter's stipend,  and  lay  his  receipts  before  the  Presbytery 
preceding  the  Synod,  and  at  the  same  time  that  the  Min- 
isters give  an  account  of  their  diligence  in  visiting  and 
catechising  their  people."  "  The  Synod  recommends  that 
a  glebe,  with  a  convenient  house  and  necessary  improve- 
ments, be  provided  for  every  Minister."  The  subject 
of  ministerial  support  was  again  before  the  Synod  in 
1782  and  1783,  and  before  the  General  Assembly  in 
1799,  and  the  churches  were  urged,  for  the  interest  of 
religion,  for  the  honor  of  the  Church  and  for  the  com- 
fort and  efficiency  of  their  Pastors,  to  see  that  liberal 

*  Minutes  O.  A.  1881,  pp.  537,  592. 
t  Ibid.,  18S0,  p.  76 ;  ISSl,  p.  548. 


MANSES.  473 

salaries  be  promptly  paid,  glebes  and  parsonages  pro- 
vided, and  congregational  and  Pastor's  libraries  fur- 
nished in  every  church.* 

What  action  was  taken  by  the  0.  S.  Assembly? 

In  1843  the  O.  S.  Assembly  adopted  the  following 
paper :  "  For  the  purpose  of  facilitating  the  settlement 
and  support  of  Pastors,  and  to  guard  more  effectually 
against  the  temptation,  or  almost  necessity,  as  in  some 
cases  seems  to  exist,  for  Ministers  to  involve  themselves, 
to  the  injury  of  their  usefulness,  in  procuring  accommo- 
dations for  themselves  and  families.  Resolved,  That  it  be 
earnestly  recommended  to  our  churches,  wherever  it  is 
expedient  and  practicable,  to  provide  suitable  parsonages 
for  the  accommodation  of  their  Pastors.  Resolved,  That 
great  care  be  taken  to  have  these  parsonages  so  guarded 
by  legal  arrangements  as  most  effectually  to  prevent  con- 
troversy, and  secure  their  perpetual  enjoyment  by  the 
churches  providing  them  for  the  continued  support  of 
the  gospel  through  coming  generations."  Action  was 
taken  in  1854  in  regard  to  ministerial  support,  and  an 
important  report  on  the  subject  was  ordered  to  be  pub- 
lished.f  In  1864  the  Assembly  declared  that,  "Whereas 
the  importance  of  providing  parsonages  for  the  comfort- 
able accommodation  of  Presbyterian  Ministers  and  their 
families  is  a  duty,  the  performance  of  which  cannot  be 
much  longer  delayed,  but  the  magnitude  of  the  operation 
demands  a  careful  scrutiny  of  the  state  of  the  Church 
and  a  thorough  knowledge  of  her  condition ;  therefore 
Resolved,  That  the  churches  under  the  care  of  the  General 
Assembly  be  requested  to  reply  to  the  following  questions." 
These  were  seven  in  number,  designed  to  ascertain  how 

*  Records  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  pp.  359,  495,  499;  Assembly's 
Digest,  p.  95.  .  if  Assembly's  Digest,  pj^.  191 -203. 

40  * 


474  OF    MISSIONS. 

many  churches  had  pai'sonages,  their  condition,  plan,  and 
how  obtained.  The  replies  were  to  be  sent  to  Mr.  Joseph 
M.  Wilson,  who  should  classify  thera  and  report  the  next 
year.  In  1865  the  committee  was  continued,  and  the 
Presbyteries  were  enjoined  to  aid  in  obtaining  the  desired 
information.  In  1866  the  Presbyteries  were  required  to 
continue  the  inquiries,  and  send  a  pastoral  letter  to  their 
churches  pressing  upon  them  "the  great  importance  and 
necessity  of  providing  manses  and  libraries  for  their  Min- 
isters." * 

What  action  was  taken  by  the  N.  S.  Assembly? 

In  1854  the  N.  S.  Assembly  passed  a  resolution  on  the 
subject  of  ministerial  support,  urging  the  churches  "  to 
consider  the  question  in  the  spirit  of  Christian  fidelity 
and  liberality,  and  to  make  ample  provision  for  those 
M'ho  minister  to  them  in  word  and  doctrine."  f 

What  was  "  the  Committee  on  Manses  "  ? 

After  the  reunion  in  1870  the  Assembly  appointed  a 
committee  of  five  laymen,  of  whom  Mr.  Joseph  M. 
Wilson  was  Chairman,  which  was  called  the  Committee 
on  Manses.  It  was  required  to  collect  and  arrange  in- 
formation from  all  the  churches  as  to  what  they  had  done 
in  regard  to  manses  for  their  Pastors;  and  the  churches 
were  instructed  to  reply  with  due  diligence  to  communi- 
cations from  this  committee,  and  thereby  aid  in  carrying 
out  the  behests  of  the  Assembly.  The  next  year  it  was 
enlarged  to  ten  members.  Presbyteries  were  requested 
to  appoint  Committees  on  Manses  to  co-operate  with  the 
Assembly's  committee.  The  information  gatheied  was 
to  be  reported  to  the  Assembly,  together  with  plans  and 
specifications  for  manses  costing  from  $1500  to  $6000; 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  1864,  P-  290 ;  1865,  p.  558 ;  1866,  p.  73 
t  New  Dir/est,  p.  574;  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  407. 


BENEVOLENCE.  475 

and  thanks  were  presented  to  Mr.  Joseph  M.  Wilson  for 
his  protracted  and  self-denying  labors  in  this  work.  In 
1873  the  committee  was  discharged,  and  the  work  of 
building  manses  was  added  to  the  duties  of  the  Board 
of  Church  Erection,  which  was  "  instructed  to  prosecute 
the  work  vigorously;"  the  money  to  be  used  must  be 
expressly  contributed  for  this  object.  In  1876  the 
Board  reported  that,  no  money  having  been  received 
for  this  object,  nothing  had  been  done,  and  therefore 
suggested  that  it  be  no  longer  considered  a  part  of  its 
duty.* 

Permanent  Committee  on  Systematic  Benef- 
icence. 

Wliat  was  "the  Committee  on  Benevolence  and  Fi- 
nance"? 

At  the  reunion  a  committee  of  twenty-one  was  ap- 
pointed to  recommend  to  the  next  Assembly  a  plan  by 
which  the  entire  benevolent  work  of  the  Church  may  be 
administered  with  uniformity  and  simplicity;  and  a  com- 
mittee of  five  from  each  branch  of  the  Church  was  ap- 
pointed to  consider  the  subject  of  raising  funds  for  the 
use  of  the  united  Church,  the  methods  of  doing  so,  and 
the  objects  to  which  they  shall  be  applied. f  The  result 
was  the  establishment  of  a  "  Committee  on  Benevolence 
and  Finance"  in  1871,  which  was  somewhat  modified  the 
next  year,  when  the  followang  was  adopted :  The  com- 
mittee shall  consist  of  fifteen  members,  mostly  business- 
men of  acknowledged  skill  in  finance,  and  located  in 
New  York.  Its  duty  shall  be  (1)  to  promote  systematic 
giving,  and  (2)  to  superintend  the  collections  for  the 

*■  Minutes  G.  A.  1870,  p.  55;  1S71,  p.  533;  1873,  p.  552;  1874,  p. 
72;  1876,  p.  171.  f  Ibd.,  1870,  p.  74. 


476  OF    MISSIONS. 

whole  benevolent  work  of  the  Church.  The  contribu- 
tions shall  be  sent  to  the  Treasurers  of  the  Boards  or  to 
this  committee;  the  Treasurer  of  the  Board  of  Home 
Missions  shall  be  the  Treasurer  of  this  committee.  It 
shall  receive  monthly  statements  from  the  Boards  of 
their  financial  condition.  Periodical  giving,  as  recom- 
mended by  the  Assembly,  was  enjoined  upon  the 
churches.  The  Presbyteries  were  required  to  co-op- 
erate through  standing  committees,  who  shall  report  to 
the  Assembly's  committee  every  six  months.  Churches 
not  contributing  to  all  the  Boards  shall  receive  no  aid 
from  the  funds  of  the  Church.*  In  1874  this  committee 
was  discontinued,  with  grateful  acknowledgment  of  the 
important  work  accomplished.  The  principles  regarded 
as  emphasized  and  well  established  were:  (1)  Giving 
should  be  from  spiritual  motives,  as  an  act  of  worship 
and  as  a  means  of  grace.  (2)  It  should  be  frequent  and 
systematic.  (3)  A  definite  proportion,  not  less  than  one- 
tenth,  of  property  should  be  consecrated  to  the  Lord. 
(4)  The  benevolent  work  undertaken  by  the  Assembly 
is  equally  obligatory  on  every  member  of  our  Church, 
according  to  his  ability.* 

What  was  "  the  Standing  Committee  on  the  Benevolent 
Work  of  the  Church"? 

When  the  Committee  on  Benevolence  and  Finance 
was  discontinued  in  1874,  it  was  recommended  that  a 
Standing  Committee  on  the  Benevolent  Work  of  the 
Church  be  established,  consisting  of  one  member  from 
each  Synod,  appointed  annually  by  the  Synods.  Its 
duty  shall  be  (1)  to  determine  in  advance  the  amount 
probably  needed  by  each  Board,  and  (2)  to  advise  as  to 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  455. 

t  Minutes  G.  A.  157^,  pp.  26,  88. 


BENEVOLENCE.  477 

the  modes  of  disljiirsement.  For  the  next  year  $1,622,000 
was  estimated  as  required  for  the  benevolent  work;  and  a 
schedule  of  contributions  was  approved  by  the  Assem- 
bly.* This  committee  differs  from  that  on  Benevolence 
and  Finance  (1)  in  name ;  (2)  this  is  annual,  the  other 
was  permanent;  (3)  this  is  appointed  by  the  Synods,  that 
by  the  Assembly;  (4)  this  is  a  large  committee,  that  was 
a  small  one ;  (5)  this  is  general  and  representative,  that 
was  local  and  specific ;  (6)  this  is  to  give  advice,  that  was 
to  superintend  collections  and  disburse  funds;  and  (7) 
this  is  to  estimate  in  advance  the  funds  needed  by  the 
Boards,  and  that  was  to  determine  how  much  should  be 
raised  in  each  Synod.  It  is  not,  therefore,  a  continuation 
of  the  former  committee,  but  a  new  one,  in  its  room  and 
stead.f 

What  was  "  the  Committee  of  the  Synods  on  the  Benev- 
olent Work  of  the  Church"? 

In  1875  this  name  was  given  to  the  committee  above 
described,  because  it  was  appointed  not  by  the  Assembly, 
but  by  the  Synods.  Its  duties  were  (1)  to  consider  the 
whole  work  of  systematic  beneficence ;  (2)  to  meet  and 
organize  so  as  to  be  in  session  near  and  during  the  meet- 
ings of  the  Assembly ;  (3)  to  obtain  from  the  Secretaries 
of  the  Boards  all  information  needed ;  (4)  to  adjust  esti- 
mates of  funds  required,  to  suggest  methods  for  raising 
the  same  and  advise  modes  of  disbursement.  Full  re- 
ports must  be  made  to  the  Assembly.  The  members 
shall  be  ex-officio  members  of  the  committees  of  their 
respective  Synods,  and  report  to  the  Synods  the  action 
of  this  committee  and  of  the  Assembly.  The  Chairmen 
of  the  Standing  Committees  of  the  Assembly  on  Church 
Work  shall  be  invited  to  sit  as  corresponding  members. 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  1874,  P-  89.  t  ^^i^.,  1875,  p.  530. 


478  OF    MISSIONS. 

The  members  shall  continue  in  office  until  their  success- 
ors are  elected,  and  one-half  shall  be  so  elected  that  they 
shall  hold  over  until  the  next  year.  The  Assembly  again 
urged  the  churches  to  contribute  to  all  the  schemes  of 
church  work  recommended  by  it,  and  advised  the  adop- 
tion of  the  plan  of  weekly  offerings  as  an  act  of  worship. 
A  special  committee  of  five  Ruling  Elders  were  appointed 
to  report  to  the  next  Assembly  "  any  suggestions  they 
may  deem  expedient  as  to  the  more  economical  adminis- 
tration of  the  benevolent  work  of  the  Church  through 
its  several  Boards  and  Committees."*  In  1876  grave 
doubts  were  expressed  as  to  the  constitutionality  of  this 
committee,  and  a  special  committee  were  appointed  to  con- 
sider the  question.f  The  following  year  it  was  declared 
(1)  that  the  Assembly  has  power  to  direct  the  lower 
courts  to  appoint  committees  with  specified  powers,  but 
which  would  belong  to  the  lower  courts,  and  must  report 
to  them,  or  through  them  to  the  Assembly.  (2)  This 
committee  of  the  Synods  will  by  its  reports  "be  imme- 
diately influential  with  the  people,  specially  as  against 
any  recommendation  of  the  General  Assembly  or  any 
appeal  of  the  Boards."  (3)  It  may  have  been  "  an  ex- 
pedient concession  for  the  time/'  when  at  the  reunion 
many  changes  had  to  be  made,  but  to  render  it  perma- 
nent "  would  make  it  a  new  court,  an  advisory  body,  co- 
ordinate, in  part  at  least,  with  the  General  Assembly." 
(4)  That  this  committee,  while  not  violating  any  express 
provision  of  the  constitution,  "infringes  upon  the  vener- 
able dignity  and  moral  power  of  our  supreme  court,  and 
is  at  once  unconstitutional  and  unwise."  It  was  there- 
fore discontinued.! 

*  Minutes  O.  A.  1875,  pp.  531-533.  %  Ibid,  1876,  p.  88. 

t  Ibid.,  1877,  pp.  574,  575. 


BENEVOLENCE.  479 

What  is  "  the  Standing  Committee  on  Benevolence "  ? 

This  is  a  committee  annually  appointed  by  the  As- 
sembly to  report  on  papers  on  the  benevolent  work  of 
the  Church  which  may  be  placed  ,in  its  hands.  The  ad- 
visability of  two  committees  on  this  subject  was  called 
in  question  in  1876,  and  the  synodical  committee  was 
the  next  year  discontinued,  and  the  Synods  were  request- 
ed to  send  up  annually  a  statistical  report  of  the  benev- 
olent work  of  the  Presbyteries,  to  be  placed  in  the  hands 
of  this  committee  to  be  the  basis  of  its  report  to  the  As- 
sembly.* But  the  next  year  only  three  of  the  Synods 
complied  with  this  request.  The  Assembly  therefore 
reiterated  the  request  and  emphasized  it,  recommending 
that  "  these  synodical  reports  embrace  the  statistics  gath- 
ered by  the  Presbyteries  at  the  meetings  in  the  spring 
preceding  the  meetings  of  the  Synods,  and  contained  in 
the  minutes  of  the  General  Assembly."  f 

What  is  "  the  Permanent  Committee  on  Systematic  Be- 
neficence"? 

In  1879  the  Standing  Committee  on  Benevolence  again 
reported  the  almost  entire  neglect  of  the  recommendation 
of  1878  by  the  Synods.  After  reviewing  the  history 
of  the  past  years,  the  committee  considered  that  it  was 
evident  that  "  the  Church  wants  and  will  have  no  new 
agency  in  addition  to  those  which  she  has  already  to  col- 
lect and  disburse  funds  and  to  instruct  her  Boards  as  to 
the  amount  and  the  manner  of  their  appropriations." 
And  it  recommended  the  creation  of  a  new  committee, 
to  be  called  "the  Permanent  Committee  on  Systematic 
Beneficence,"  which  shall  see  that  each  Synod  and  Pres- 
bytery has  a  Committee  on  Benevolence,  and  secure 
through  these  such  attention  to  the  subject  "  that  the 
*  Minutes  G.  A.  1877,  p.  582.  f  I^id.,  1878,  p.  104. 


480  OP   MISSIONS. 

matter  of  systematic  beneficence  and  church  work  will 
be  kept  constantly  before  Ministers  and  churches  until 
these  three  points  are  attained :  (1)  Each  church  has  a 
proper  scriptural  plan;  (2)  each  church  contributes  to 
every  Board;  and  (3)  proper  and  fresh  information 
on  the  general  work  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  is 
constantly  presented  to  church  courts  and  individual 
churches."  Such  a  committee  was  formed,  consisting  of 
three  Ministers  and  three  Elders ;  and  it  was  Resolved, 
'^  That,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  so  many  of  our  churches 
fail  to  contribute  to  all  the  Boards  of  our  Church,  in 
the  judgment  of  this  Assembly  the  members  of  all  our 
congregations  have  a  right  to  an  opportunity  to  contrib- 
ute at  least  once  a  year  to  each  of  the  Boards,  as  re- 
quired by  the  highest  authority  of  the  Church,  and  the 
Sessions  of  the  churches  have  no  right  to  withhold 
that  opportunity."  Resolved,  "  That  it  is  the  duty  of 
each  Minister  in  charge  to  give  information,  set  forth 
the  privilege  of  giving,  and  urge  the  claims  of  each 
Board  in  connection  with  the  annual  collection."  *  The 
next  year  this  committee  presented  its  first  report,  stat- 
ing that  the  subject  had  received  more  attention  through- 
out the  Church  than  for  many  years  previous.  The  com- 
mittee was  reappointed. t  In  1881  this  committee  was 
enlarged  to  twelve,  so  as  to  distribute  its  labors  more 
widely,  and  Cleveland  was  made  its  centre.  The  work 
is  to  "  be  prosecuted  in  the  future,  as  in  the  past  two 
years,  in  full  sympathy  with  all  of  our  Boards,  endeav- 
oring to  secure  from  every  member  of  every  church  an 
adequate  contribution  for  each  of  our  objects  of  benev- 
olence ;  and  that  for  this  purpose  every  Presbytery  and 
Synod  should  have  a  Committee  on  Systematic  Benef- 
*  Minutes  O.  A.  1S79,  pii.  620-623.  \  Ibid.,  ISSO,  pp.  67,  168. 


HISTORICAL  SOCIETY.  481 

icence,  and  each  church  should  have  a  plan  of  giving, 
and  each  member  should  be  taught  to  set  apart  regularly 
a  certain  proportion  of  his  income  to  the  Lord."  "  Each 
Session  is  desired  to  fill,  according  to  the  injunctions  of 
the  Assembly,  the  statistical  blank  sent  them  in  the  in- 
terests of  this  committee."  *  The  Board  of  Publication 
was  requested,  after  receiving  suggestions  from  the  Stated 
Clerk  of  the  Assembly,  the  Secretary  of  the  Sabbath- 
school  work  and  a  representative  of  the  Committee  of 
Systematic  Beneficence,  to  issue  "  a  form  of  a  systematic 
blank,  which  on  a  single  sheet  shall  comprise,  when  filled 
out,  all  the  facts  which  the  orders  of  the  General  As- 
sembly make  it  necessary  for  each  Session  to  furnish."  f 

Presbyterian  Historical  Society. 

What  early  efforts  were  made  to  collect  material  for  the 
history  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  ? 

In  1791  a  committee  of  six  was  appointed  by  the  As- 
sembly to  devise  a  plan  for  collecting  materials  for  a  his- 
tory of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  North  America.  They 
reported,  approving  the  design,  stating  what  information 
should  be  obtained,  and  recommending  that  each  Minis- 
ter be  enjoined  to  furnish  a  history  of  his  own  church  at 
the  next  meeting  of  the  Assembly,  and  that  old  records 
of  Presbyteries  and  Synods  be  examined.  The  next 
year  the  Presbyteries  were  called  upon  for  these  historical 
reports,  but,  though  diligently  engaged  in  the  work,  the 
Presbyteries  were  not  prepared  to  report.  This  was  the 
case  for  several  years,  the  Assembly  enjoining  the  Pres- 
byteries to  continue  their  attention  to  the  subject.  In 
1804,  Rev.  Ashbel  Green,  D.  D.,  and  Mr.  Ebenezer 
Hazard  were  appointed  to  write  a  history  "  under  the 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  1881,  p.  572.  %  Ibid.,  p.  592. 

41  2F 


482  OF    MISSIONS. 

care  of  the  General  Assembly,"  and  Presbyteries  and 
churches  were  urged  to  forward  to  them  the  materials 
already  collected.  In  1813  this  committee  reported  that 
considerable  progress  had  been  made,  but  that  it  was  im- 
practicable for  them  to  go  on  with  the  work.  Rev. 
Samuel  Miller,  D.  D.,  was  appointed  in  their  place,  and 
directed  to  continue  and  complete  the  history.  In  1819, 
Dr.  Green  was  reappointed,  and  associated  with  Dr. 
Miller.  In  1825  this  committee  desired  to  be  dis- 
charged. It  was  Resolved,  "  That  the  request  made  by 
the  Rev.  Drs.  Green  and  Miller,  to  be  released  from 
their  appointment  to  write  the  history  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian Church  in  the  United  States,  is  received  with  un- 
feigned regret."  A  committee  of  three.  Rev.  Drs. 
Green,  Janeway  and  Ely,  were  appointed  a  committee 
"  to  receive  from  Rev.  Dr.  Green  the  documents  and 
annals  and  information  prepared  by  him  to  be  furnished, 
and  to  collect  such  other  documents  as  may  be  in  their 
power  and  may  be  necessary  to  the  completion  of  the 
history  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States, 
with  as  little  delay  as  possible."  They  were  to  report 
from  time  to  time  their  progress.  All  Presbyteries 
formed  since  1797  were  urged  to  compile  their  several 
histories  and  send  them  to  the  committee,  and  an  agent 
was  appointed  in  each  Synod  to  collect  all  such  docu- 
ments, printed  and  manuscript,  as  may  throw  any  light 
on  the  history  of  any  part  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 
In  1836,  Rev.  L.  Halsey,  D.  D.,  was  appointed  in  the 
place  of  Rev.  E.  S.  Ely,  D.  D.,  who  resigned.*  After 
great  efforts  and  years  of  labor  valuable  histories  were 
collected,  but  nearly  all  afterward  perished,  owing  to  the 
fact  that  when  the  General  Assembly  of  1791  ordered 
*  Asseiiibhjs  Digest,  pp.  502-504. 


HISTORICAL  SOCIETY.  483 

their  preparation  it  failed  to  make  provision  for  their 
preservation.* 

What  is  the  Presbyterian  Historical  Society  ? 

It  is  a  society  which  was  organized  at  the  meeting  of 
the  General  Assembly  in  Charleston,  S.  C,  in  1852. 
Some  changes  were  made  in  1856.  It  was  incorporated 
in  1857  by  the  Legislature  of  Pennsylvania.  The 
charter  was  amended  in  1877.  Its  objects  are  to  collect 
and  preserve  the  materials,  and  to  promote  the  know- 
ledge, of  the  history  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the 
United  States  of  America.  The  Executive  Committee 
reports  at  the  annual  meeting,  and  causes  an  address  to 
be  delivered  during  the  meeting  of  the  General  Assem- 
bly or  Synod  of  each  church  represented  in  the  society. 
It  is  not  confined  to  our  denomination,  but  is  open  to  all 
the  branches  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United 
States.f 

What  action  has  the  Assembly  taken  in  reference  to  this 
Society  ? 

In  1853  the  O.  S.  Assembly  testified  their  interest  in 
the  organization  of  this  society,  and  deemed  "the  objects 
of  sufficient  importance  to  call  the  attention  of  the  Synod 
and  Presbyteries  to  such  forms  of  co-operation  in  secur- 
ing the  materials  of  our  church  history  as  may  seem  to 
them  expedient."  All  the  manuscript  materials  pertain- 
ing to  the  history  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  which 
have  been  collected  in  past  years  under  their  authority 
were  committed  to  the  custody  of  the  society. |  The  so- 
ciety is  located  in  Philadelphia. 

*  Minutes  O.  A.  1877,  p.  539. 

f  Webster's  History  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  pp.  695-700.     This 
was  the  first  volume  of  the  publications  of  the  Historical  Society. 
X  Assembly's  Digest,  p.  505. 


484  OF   MISSIONS. 

In  1873  the  Assembly,  on  the  recommendation  of  the 
Committee  on  the  Centennial  Anniversary  of  the  Inde- 
pendence of  the  United  States,  ordered  that  six  historical 
discourses  should  be  prepared,  by  persons  duly  a])pointtid, 
on  different  periods  of  our  history  and  methods  of  our 
church  work,  and  that  on  the  first  Sabbath  of  July,  1876, 
the  Pastor  of  each  church  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Assembly  shall  deliver  a  history  of  his  church,  and  trans- 
mit a  copy  of  said  history  to  the  Historical  Society  "for 
arrangement  and  for  siich  other  disposition  of  it  as  the 
General  Assembly  or  the  committee  appointed  to  have 
charge  of  the  subject  may  direct."  On  the  same  day 
collections  were  ordered  to  be  taken  in  all  the  churches 
for  the  purpose  of  the  erection  of  a  suitable  fireproof 
building  in  which  to  preserve  the  valuable  records, 
books,  pamphlets  and  manuscripts  belonging  to  the 
society.*  In  1877  a  valuable  report  was  presented, 
setting  forth  the  value  of  the  library  of  the  society,  and 
pleading  for  the  means  needed  for  the  erection  of  the 
fireproof  building.  The  Assembly  renewed  its  recom- 
mendations, ui'ging  those  Pastors  to  send  in  their  his- 
torical discourses  who  have  not  yet  done  so,  and  that 
collections  be  taken  for  the  building  and  the  Endowment 
Fund.f  In  1878  the  "General  Assembly  rejoiced  in  the 
success  of  the  Presbyterian  Historical  Society  in  their 
securement  of  |20,000  for  the  safe  housing  of  their  pre- 
cious historic  treasures;  and  recommended  every  Pastor 
who  has  failed  to  do  so  to  prepare  and  transmit  to  the 
society  a  history  of  the  church  under  his  charge." 
"  The  Assembly  earnestly  commended  the  objects  of 
the    society   to    the    attention    and    liberality    of    the 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  1873,  p.  490.  f  I^i^-,  ^"^T"^.  P-  537. 


AUTHORITY   OF   MODERATORS.  485 

churches."*  This  recommendation  was  repeated  in 
1879  and  1881.  It  has  now  10,000  volumes  and 
30,000  pamphlets,  many  of  which  are  invaluable.f 


CHAPTER    XIX, 

OF   MODERATORS. 


I.  What  is  a  Moderator? 

The  presiding  officer  of  a  meeting  for  transaction  of 
business  is  called  the  President  or  Moderator.  The  latter 
is  the  title  given  to  the  presiding  officer  in  our  church 
courts.  A  Chairman  directs  the  meetings  and  work  of 
a  committee  or  commission,  and  is  generally  chosen  by 
the  court  appointing  the  committee,  the  first  one  named 
being  the  Chairman.  The  committee  may,  however, 
choose  its  own  Chairman.  The  Moderator  of  a  court 
is  determined  according  to  the  rules  of  the  court.|  '^It 
is  equally  necessary  in  the  judicatories  of  the  Church,  as 
in  other  assemblies,  that  there  should  be  a  Moderator  or 
President,  that  the  business  may  be  conducted  with  order 
and  despatch.''^ 

II.  What  authority  has  the  Moderator  ? 

"He  is  to  be  considered  as  possessing,  by  delegation 
from  the  whole  body,  all  authority  necessary  for  the  pi^es- 
ervation  of  order,  for  convening  and  adjourning  the  judi- 
catory, and  directing  its  operations  according  to  the  rules 
of  the  Church."  He  is  a  ministerial  officer  with  delegated 
authority,  and  servant  of  the  body  over  which  he  pre- 
sides. §     "He  is  to  propose  to  the  judicatory  evety  subject 

*  Minutes  O.  A.  1878,  p.  120. 

t  Ihid.,  1879,  p.  560 ;  1881,  p.  577.  %  See  pp.  126,  488. 

§  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  460 ;  New  Digest,  p.  542. 

41  * 


486  OF    MODERATORS. 

of  ddibet'tttion  that  comes  before  them.  He  may  propose 
what  appears  to  him  the  most  regular  and  speedy  way  of 
bringing  any  business  to  issue.  He  shall  prevent  the  mem- 
bers from  interrupting  each  other,  and  require  them  in 
speaking  always  to  address  the  Chair.  He  shall  prevent 
a  speaker  from  deviating  from  the  subject  and  from  using 
personal  reflections.  He  shall  silence  those  who  refuse  to 
obey  order.  He  shall  prevent  members  who  attempt  to  leave 
the  judicatory  without  leave  obtained  from  him.  He  shall 
at  a  proper  season,  when  the  deliberations  are  ended,  put 
the  question  and  call  the  votes.  If  the  judicatory  be  equally 
divided,  he  shall  possess  the  casting  vote.  If  he  be  not 
willing  to  decide,  he  shall  put  the  question  a  second  time; 
and  if  the  judicatory  be  again  equally  divided,  and  he  de- 
cline to  give  his  vote,  the  question  shall  be  lost.  In  all  ques- 
tions he  shall  give  a  concise  and  clear  statement  of  the  object 
of  the  vote;  and,  the  vote  being  taken,  shall  then  declare 
how  the  question  is  decided.  And  he  shall  likewise  be  em- 
powered, on  any  extraordinary  emergency,  to  convene  the 
judicatory  by  his  circular  letter  before  the  ordinary  time 
of  meeting."  He  may  speak  to  points  of  order  iu  prefer- 
ence to  other  members,  rising  from  his  seat  for  that  pur- 
pose, and  shall  decide  questions  of  order,  subject  to  an 
appeal  to  the  judicatory  by  any  two  members.  He 
shall  appoint  all  committees,  except  when  the  court 
shall  decide  otherwise.  He  may  vote  with  the  other 
members  when  they  vote  by  ballot;  and  give  a  casting 
vote  when  the  body  is  equally  divided.  He  cannot  have 
a  double  vote.  AVliile  in  the  chair  he  cannot  take  part 
in  any  debate,  but  may  leave  the  chair  for  that  purpose. 
In  judicial  cases  he  has  the  right  to  administer  oaths  to 
the  witnesses.  His  authority  to  do  so  is  not  derived  from 
the  judicatory  over  which  he  presides,  nor  from  the  Gen- 


MODERATOR   MEMBER  OF  THE   COURT.  487 

eral  Assembly,  but  from  the  constitution,  or  articles  of 
compact,  which  our  churches  have  adopted,  and  by  which 
they  have  agreed  to  be  governed  as  a  Christiaa  commu- 
nity. Oaths  prescribed  by  ecclesiastical  authority  in  no 
respect  interfere  with  our  relations  to  civil  society,  nor 
are  they  a  violation  of  those  laws  of  the  .State  which 
prescribe  the  manner  in  which  civil  oaths  shall  be  ad- 
ministered.* 

Must  the  Moderator  be  a  member  of  the  judicatory  ? 

Not  necessarily  so,  though  generally  he  is.  The  Mod- 
erator of  the  Session  is  generally  the  Pastor  of  the  church. 
But  under  certain  circumstances  the  Session  may  invite 
a  Minister  of  the  Presbytery  to  preside,  and  the  Presby- 
tery may  appoint  a  Moderator  when  there  is  no  Pastor. 
The  Minister  thus  presiding  does  not  become  a  member 
of  the  Session,  although  he  may  give  a  casting  vote,  ac- 
cording to  the  provisions  of  this  chapter.f 

The  Moderator  of  our  General  Assembly  presides 
during  the  organization  of  the  next  Assembly  and  until 
a  Moderator  is  elected,  although  he  may  not  be  a  mem- 
ber of  that  body.  In  case  he  be  absent,  the  last  Mode- 
rator present,  or  if  there  be  none,  the  senior  member 
present,  shall  take  the  chair.  The  "last  Moderator 
present"  may  be  interpreted  (1)  according  to  the  decis- 
ion of  the  Assembly  of  1835,  to  mean  present,  although 
not  a  member  (the  N.  S.  Assembly  reaffirmed  this  in 
1861) — or  (2),  according  to  the  deliverance  of  the  O.  S. 
Assembly  in  1 843,  that  it  is  the  deliberate  judgment  of  the 
General  Assembly  that  no  person  is  authorized  to  open 
the  session  of  the  Assembly  or  preside  at  the  opening 
of  the  said  session  except  the  Moderator  of  the  Assembly 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  204,  205,  460,  530 ;  Book  of  Discipline,  cli. 
vi.,  sect.  ix.     See  p.  491.  f  See  p.  12(3. 


488  OF    MODERATORS. 

immediately  preceding,  or  in  his  absence  a  commissioner 
to  the  Assembly.*  In  1880,  the  Moderator  of  the  pre- 
ceding Assembly  being  absent,  Eev.  J.  Eells,  D.  D.,  the 
Moderator  in  1877,  preached  the  opening  sermon  and 
presided  until  the  new  Moderator  was  chosen.  He  was 
not  a  commissioner,  and  no  objections  were  made.  But 
the  Assembly  some  days  later  resolved  to  change  Eule  II. 
of  the  General  Rules  for  Judicatories  f  by  inserting  the 
words,  "  being  a  commissioner,"  after  the  words,  "  the 
last  Moderator  present."! 

Must  the  Moderator  ever  vacate  the  chair  ? 

If  the  Moderator  be  a  member  of  the  inferior  court 
from  whose  decision  an  appeal  or  complaint  is  made,  he 
should  during  the  trial  vacate  the  chair,  and  the  last 
Moderator,  being  a  commissioner,  present,  or  some  other 
Minister,  should  preside.  § 

ni.  How  are  Moderators  chosen  ? 

If  the  church  be  vacant,  the  Presbytery  should  appoint 
one  of  its  Ministers  to  be  Moderator  of  the  Session. ||  If 
the  congregation  call  a  Pastor,  and  he  becomes  Moderator 
of  the  Session  by  the  act  of  Presbytery  installing  him 
Pastor,  if  at  any  time  he  be  sick  or  absent,  or  if  it  be 
thought  best  for  prudential  reasons  that  the  Pastor 
should  not  j^reside,  the  Session  may  invite  a  Minister 
of  the  same  Presbytery  to  take  his  place,  or  if  this  be 
"  impracticable  witiiout  great  inconvenience,"  they  may 
select  one  of  their  own  number  to  preside.  || 

'^Tlie  Bloderator  of  the  Presbytery  shall  he  chosen  from 
year  to  year,  or  at  every  meeting  of  the  Presbytery,  as  the 
Presbytery  may  think  best."     This  is  understood  as  au- 

*  See  p.  278.     Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  201,  4G0 ;  Assembly's  Digest, 
p.  281.  t  See  p.  490.  J  3Iinvtes  G.  A.  1880,  pp.  3,  45. 

2  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  587.  ||  See  p.  128. 


MODERATOR — HOW    CHOSEN.  489 

thorizing  the  usage  of  some  Presbyteries  of  electing  the 
Moderator  to  serve  for  six  months.  Nominations  may 
be  made  by  any  member  of  the  body.  If  only  one  is 
proposed,  the  vote  may  be  taken  at  once.  But  if  several 
are  nominated,  they  are  each  called  upon  to  vote  and  to  re- 
tire while  the  roll  is  called,  and  the  votes  are  given  vivd 
voce.  In  some  Presbyteries  the  choice  is  made  by  ballot. 
A  committee  is  appointed  to  bring  in  the  person  elected, 
who  is  inducted  into  office  by  the  retiring  Moderator.* 

"T/ie  3Ioderator  of  the  Synod  and  of  the  General  As- 
sembly shall  be  chosen  at  each  meeting  of  those  judicato- 
ries." The  mode  of  nomination  and  electing  is  the  same 
as  that  described  above  in  the  case  of  the  Presbyteries, 
except  that  in  making  the  nomination  the  presbyterial 
relation  of  the  Minister  is  mentioned.  This  became  a 
standing  rule  of  the  Assembly  in  1791.t  The  O.  S. 
Assembly  in  1846,  and  from  1851  to  1869,  Resolved, 
"  That  a  majority  of  all  the  votes  given  for  Moderator 
be  necessary  for  a  choice."  J  The  mode  of  installation 
is  as  follows,  according  to  the  rule  adopted  in  1791 : 
The  newly-elected  Moderator  is  brought  before  the  As- 
sembly by  a  committee  appointed  for  that  purpose,  and 
presented  to  the  retiring  Moderator,  "  who  shall  address 
him  and  the  house  in  the  following  or  like  manner: 
*Sir,  it  is  my  duty  to  inform  you,  and  to  announce  to 
this  house,  that  you  are  duly  elected  to  the  office  of 
Moderator  of  this  General  Assembly.  For  your  direc- 
tion in  office,  and  for  the  direction  of  this  Assembly  in 
all  your  deliberations,  before  I  leave  this  seat  I  am  to 
read  to  you  and  this  house  the  rules  contained  in  the 
records  of  this  Assembly,  which  I  doubt  not  will  be 
carefully  observed  by  both  in  conducting  the  business 

*  See  below.  f  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  202.  %  Ibid, 


490  OF   MODERATORS. 

that  may  come  before  you.'"  Formerly,  these  rules  of 
order  were  read.  It  has,  however,  become  the  usage  to 
put  the  book  containing  them  into  the  hands  of  the 
Moderator,  making  a  modification  in  the  above  language. 
The  Moderator  shall  proceed  thus :  "  Now,  having  read 
these  rules  according  to  order  for  your  instruction  as 
Moderator,  and  for  the  direction  of  all  the  members  in 
the  management  of  business,  praying  that  Almighty  God 
may  direct  and  bless  all  the  deliberations  of  this  Assem- 
bly for  the  glory  of  his  name  and  for  the  edification  and 
comfort  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States, 
I  resign  my  place  and  office  as  Moderator."  Generally, 
he  does  not  confine  himself  to  the  above  language,  and 
the  new  Moderator  often  makes  a  short  reply  to  him  and 
an  address  to  the  Assembly.* 

What  are  the  rules  read  to  the  Moderator  ? 

The  General  Rules  for  Judicatories.  They  are  re- 
ferred to  in  the  above  form  of  induction,  which  was 
adopted  in  1791,  but  were  not  submitted  to  the  Presby- 
teries, and  therefore  form  no  part  of  the  constitution. 
They  have  received  several  modifications.  At  the  re- 
union it  was  found  that  the  rules  used  by  the  two 
branches  were  very  nearly  alike,  and  only  few  changes 
were  made.     They  are  as  follows : 

General  Rules  for  Judicatories. 

I.  "  The  Moderator  shall  take  the  chair  precisely  at 
the  hour  to  which  the  judicatory  stands  adjourned,  and 
shall  immediately  call  the  members  to  order,  and  on  the 
appearance  of  a  quorum  shall  open  the  session  with 
prayer." 

II.  "  If  a  quorum  be  assembled  at  the  hour  appoint- 

*  Preshyterixin  Digest,  p.  203. 


RULES    FOR   JUDICATORIES.  491 

ed,  and  the  Moderator  be  absent,  the  last  Moderator 
present,  being  a  commissioner,  or,  if  there  be  none,  the 
senior  member  present,  shall  be  requested  to  take  his 
place  without  delay  until  a  new  election."  (The  clause, 
"  being  a  commissioner,"  was  added  in  1880.)t 

III.  "  If  a  quorum  be  not  assembled  at  the  hour  ap- 
pointed, any  two  members  shall  be  competent  to  adjourn 
from  time  to  time,  that  an  opportunity  may  be  given  for 
a  quorum  to  assemble." 

IV.  "  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Moderator,  at  all 
times,  to  preserve  order,  and  to  endeavor  to  conduct  all 
business  before  the  judicatory  to  a  speedy  and  proper 
result." 

V.  "  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Moderator  carefully 
to  keep  notes  of  the  several  articles  of  business  which 
may  be  assigned  for  particular  days,  and  to  call  them  up 
at  the  time  appointed." 

VI.  "  The  Moderator  may  speak  to  points  of  order  in 
preference  to  other  members,  rising  from  his  seat  for  that 
purpose,  and  shall  decide  questions  of  order,  subject  to  an 
appeal  to  the  judicatory  by  any  two  members." 

VII.  "The  Moderator  shall  appoint  all  committees, 
except  in  those  cases  in  which  the  judicatory  shall  decide 
otherwise." 

VIII.  "  When  a  vote  is  taken  by  ballot  in  any  judica- 
tory, the  Moderator  shall  vote  with  the  other  members ; 
but  he  shall  not  vote  in  any  other  case  unless  the  judica- 
tory be  equally  divided ;  when,  if  he  do  not  choose  to 
vote,  the  question  shall  be  lost." 

IX.  "  The  person  first  named  on  any  committee  shall 
be  considered  as  the  chairman  thereof,  whose  duty  it  shall 
be  to  convene  the  committee,  and,  in  case  of  his  absence 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  1880,  p.  45. 


492  OF   MODEKATORS. 

or  inability  to  act,  the  second-named  member  shall  take 
his  place  and  perform  his  duties." 

X.  "It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the-Clerk, as  soon  as  pos- 
sible after  the  commencement  of  the  sessions  of  every 
judicatory,  to  form  a  complete  roll  of  the  members  pres- 
ent, and  put  the  same  into  the  hands  of  the  Moderator. 
And  it  shall  also  be  the  duty  of  the  Clerk,  whenever  any 
additional  members  take  their  seats,  to  add  their  names 
in  their  proper  places  to  the  said  roll." 

XI.  "  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Clerk  immediately 
to  file  all  papers  in  the  order  in  which  they  have  been 
read,  with  proper  endorsements,  and  to  keep  them  in 
perfect  order." 

XII.  "The  minutes  of  the  last  meeting  of  the  judica- 
tory shall  be  presented  at  the  commencement  of  its  ses- 
sions, and  if  requisite  read  and  corrected." 

XIII.  "  Business  left  unfinished  at  the  last  sitting  is 
ordinarily  to  be  taken  up  first." 

XIV.  "A  motion  must  be  seconded,  and  afterward 
repeated  by  the  Moderator,  or  read  aloud,  before  it  is 
debated ;  and  every  motion  shall  be  reduced  to  writing 
if  the  Moderator  or  any  member  require  it." 

XV.  "Any  member  who  shall  have  made  a  motion 
shall  have  liberty  to  withdraw  it,  with  consent  of  his 
second,  before  any  debate  has  taken  place  thereon,  but 
not  afterward  without  the  leave  of  the  judicatory." 

XVI.  "  If  a  motion  under  debate  contains  several 
parts,  any  two  members  may  have  it  divided,  and  a 
question  taken  on  each  part." 

XVII.  "  When  various  motions  are  made  with  respect 
to  the  filling  of  blanks  with  particular  numbers  or  times, 
the  question  shall  always  be  first  taken  on  the  highest 
number  and  longest  time." 


RULES   FOR   JUDICATORIES.  493 

XVIII.  "Motions  to  lay  on  the  table,  to  take  up 
business,  to  adjourn,  and  the  call  for  the  previous  ques- 
tion, shall  be  put  without  debate.  On  questions  of 
order,  postponement  or  comrnitinent  no  member  shall 
speak  more  than  once.  On  all  other  questions  each 
member  may  speak  twice,  but  not  oftener  without  ex- 
press leave  of  the  judicatory." 

XIX.  "  When  a  question  is  under  debate,  no  motion 
ihall  be  received  unless  to  adjourn,  to  lay  on  the  table, 
to  postpone  indefinitely,  to  postpone  until  a  day  certain, 
to  commit  or  amend ;  which  several  motions  shall  have 
precedence  in  the  order  in  which  they  are  herein  ar- 
ranged; and  the  motion  for  adjournment  shall  be  al- 
ways in  order." 

XX.  "An  amendment,  and  also  an  amendment  to  an 
amendment,  may  be  moved  on  any  motion,  but  a  motion 
to  amend  an  amendment  to  an  amendment  shall  not  be 
in  order.  Action  on  amendments  shall  precede  action  on 
the  original  motion." 

XXI.  "A  distinction  shall  be  observed  between  a  mo- 
tion to  lay  on  the  table  for  the  present  and  a  motion  to 
lay  on  the  table  unconditionally — viz. :  a  motion  to  lay 
on  the  table  for  the  present  shall  be  taken  without  de- 
bate; and  if  carried  in  the  affirmative,  the  effect  shall  be 
to  place  the  subject  on  the  docket,  and  it  may  be  taken 
up  and  considered  at  any  subsequent  time.  But  a  motion 
to  lay  on  the  table  unconditionally  shall  be  taken  with- 
out debate;  and  if  carried  in  the  affirmative,  it  shall 
not  be  in  order  to  take  up  the  subject  during  the  same 
meeting  of  the  judicatory  without  a  vote  of  reconsider- 
ation." 

XXII.  "The  previous  question  shall  be  put  in  this 
form,  namely :  Shall  the  main  question  be  now  put?    It 

42 


494  OF    MODERATORS. 

shall  only  be  admitted  Avhen  demanded  by  a  majority  of 
the  members  present ;  and  the  eiFect  shall  be  to  put  an 
end  to  all  debate  and  bring  the  body  to  a  direct  vote — 
first,  on  a  motion  to  commit  the  subject  under  consider- 
ation (if  such  motion  shall  have  been  made);  secondly, 
if  the  motion  for  commitment  does  not  prevail,  on  pend- 
ing amendments ;  and  lastly,  on  the  main  question." 

XXIII.  "A  question  shall  not  again  be  called  up  or 
reconsidered  at  the  same  session  of  the  judicatory  at 
which  it  has  been  decided,  unless  by  consent  of  two- 
thirds  of  the  members  who  were  present  at  the  decision, 
and  unless  the  motion  to  reconsider  be  made  and  sec- 
onded by  persons  who  voted  with  the  majority." 

XXIV.  "  A  subject  which  has  lieen  indefinitely  post- 
poned, either  by  the  operation  of  the  previous  question 
or  by  a  motion  for  indefinite  postponement,  shall  not  be 
again  called  up  during  the  same  sessions  of  the  judica- 
tory, unless  by  the  consent  of  three-fourths  of  the  mem- 
bers who  were  present  at  the  decision." 

XXV.  "  Members  ought  not,  without  weighty  rea- 
sons, to  decline  voting,  as  this  practice  might  leave  the 
decision  of  very  interesting  questions  to  a  small  propor- 
tion of  the  judicatory.  Silent  members,  unless  excused 
from  voting,  must  be  considered  as  acquiescing  with  the 
majority." 

XXVI.  "When  the  Moderator  has  commenced  taking 
the  vote,  no  further  debate  or  remark  shall  be  admitted, 
unless  there  has  evidently  been  a  mistake,  in  which  case 
the  mistake  shall  be  rectified,  and  the  Moderator  shall 
recommence  taking  the  vote." 

XXVII.  "Tlieyeas  and  nays  on  any  question  shall 
not  be  recorded,  unless  recpiired  by  one-third  of  the 
members  present." 


RULES    FOE   JUDIOATOKIES.  496 

XXVIII.  "  No  member  in  the  course  of  debate  shall 
be  allowed  to  indulge  in  personal  reflections." 

XXIX.  "  If  more  than  one  member  rise  to  speak  at 
the  same  time,  the  member  who  is  most  distant  from  the 
Moderator's  chair  shall  speak  first." 

XXX.  "  When  more  than  three  members  of  the  ju- 
dicatory shall  be  standing  at  the  same  time,  the  Moder- 
ator shall  require  all  to  take  their  seats,  the  person  only 
excepted  who  may  be  speaking." 

XXXI.  "  Every  member,  when  speaking,  shall  ad- 
dress himself  to  the  Moderator,  and  shall  treat  his  fel- 
low-members, and  especially  the  Moderator,  with  deco- 
rum and  respect." 

XXXII.  "No  speaker  shall  be  interrupted,  unless  he 
be  out  of  order,  or  for  the  purpose  of  correcting  mistakes 
or  misrepresentations." 

XXXIII.  "  Without  express  permission  no  member  of 
a  judicatory,  while  business  is  going  on,  shall  engage  in 
private  conversation,  nor  shall  members  address  one  an- 
other, nor  any  person  present,  but  through  the  Moder- 
ator." 

XXXIV.  "  It  is  indispensable  that  members  of  ec- 
clesiastical judicatories  maintain  great  gravity  and  dig- 
nity while  judicially  convened ;  that  they  attend  closely 
in  their  speeches  to  the  subject  under  consideration,  and 
avoid  prolix  and  desultory  harangues;  and  when  they 
deviate  from  the  subject  it  is  the  privilege  of  any  mem- 
ber, and  the  duty  of  the  Moderator,  to  call  them  to 
order." 

XXXV.  "  If  any  member  act,  in  any  respect,  in  a 
disorderly  manner,  it  shall  be  the  privilege  of  any  mem- 
ber, and  the  duty  of  the  Moderator,  to  call  him  to 
order." 


496  OF   MODERATOES. 

XXXVI.  "If  any  member  consider  himself  ag- 
grieved by  a  decision  of  the  Moderator,  it  shall  be  his 
privilege  to  appeal  to  the  judicatory,  and  the  question 
on  the  appeal  shall  be  taken  without  debate." 

XXXVII.  "  Xo  member  shall  retire  from  any  judi- 
catory without  the  leave  of  the  Moderator,  nor  with- 
draw from  it  to  return  home  without  the  consent  of  the 
judicatory." 

XXXVIII.  "All  judicatories  have  the  right  to  sit  in 
private  on  business  which  in  their  judgment  ought  not  to 
be  matter  of  public  speculation." 

XXXIX.  "Besides  the  right  to  sit  judicially  in  pri- 
vate whenever  they  think  proper  to  do  so,  all  judicato- 
ries have  the  right  to  hold  wliat  are  connnonly  called 
^  interlocutory  meetings,'  in  which  members  may  freely 
converse  together,  without  the  formalities  which  are 
usually  necessary  in  judicial  proceedings." 

XL.  "Whenever  a  judicatory  is  about  to  sit  in  a  ju- 
dicial capacity,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Moderator  sol- 
emnly to  announce  from  the  chair  that  the  body  is  about 
to  pass  to  the  consideration  of  the  business  assigned  for 
trial,  and  to  enjoin  on  the  members  to  recollect  and  regard 
their  high  character  as  judges  of  a  court  of  Jesus  Christ, 
and  the  solemn  duty  in  which  they  are  about  to  act." 

XLI.  "In  all  cases  before  a  judicatory,  where  there 
is  an  accuser  or  prosecutor,  it  is  expedient  that  there  be 
a  committee  of  the  judicatory  appointed  (provided  the 
number  of  members  be  sufficient  to  admit  it  without  in- 
convenience), who  shall  be  called  the  'Judicial  Commit- 
tee,' and  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  digest  and  arrange  all 
pa})ers,  and  to  prescribe,  under  the  direction  of  the  ju- 
dicatory, the  whole  order  of  })roceedings.  The  members 
of  this  committee  shall  be  entitled,  notwithstandinsr  their 


RULES   FOR   JUDICATORIES.  497 

performance  of  this  duty,  to  sit  and  vote  in  the  cause  as 
members  of  the  judicatory." 

XLII.  "  But  in  case  of  process  on  the  ground  of  gen- 
eral rumor,  where  there  is,  of  course,  no  particular  accuser, 
there  may  be  a  committee  appointed  (if  convenient)  who 
shall  be  called  the  '  Committee  of  Prosecution,'  and  who 
shall  conduct  the  whole  course  on  the  part  of  the  pros- 
ecution. The  members  of  this  committee  shall  not  be 
permitted  to  sit  in  judgment  in  the  case." 

XLIII.  "The  Moderator  of  every  judicatory  above 
the  church  Session,  in  finally  closing  its  sessions,  in  ad- 
dition to  prayer,  may  cause  to  be  sung  an  appropriate 
psalm  or  hymn,  and  shall  pronounce  the  apostolical  ben- 
ediction." * 

Wliat  Standing  Orders  were  adopted  ? 

In  1879  the  following  Standing  Orders  were  adopted 
and  printed  in  the  Appendix  to  the  Minutes.  It  was 
Resolved,  "  That  they  be  regarded  as  supplemental  to  and 
forming  a  part  of  the  Standing  Rules  for  Judicatories : " 

"1.  The  General  Assembly  meet  invariably  on  the 
third  Thursday  of  May,  annually,  at  11  o'clock  a.m." 

"  2.  The  credentials  of  commissioners  and  delegates 
are  to  be  presented  at  a  previous  hour  of  the  same  day 
or  of  the  preceding  day,  according  to  public  notice,  to 
the  Stated  and  Permanent  Clerks,  acting  as  a  Permanent 
Committee  on  Commissions." 

"  3.  The  Lord's  Supper  is  to  be  celebrated  by  the  As- 
sembly on  the  evening  of  Thursday,  the  first  day  of  their 
sessions." 

"  4.  The  evening  of  Friday,  the  second  day  of  the  ses- 
sions, is  assigned  to  a  popular  meeting  in  behalf  of  the 
Sabbath-school  interests  of  the  Church." 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  205-208. 
42*  2(i 


498  OF    MODERATORS. 

"  5.  The  evening  of  the  first  Tuesday  of  the  sessions 
is  appropriated  to  the  consideration  of  the  Home  Mission 
work  of  the  Church." 

"6.  The  evening  of  the  first  Wednesday  of  the  sessions 
is  appropriated,  in  like  manner,  to  the  Foreign  Mission 
work  of  the  Church." 

"  7.  The  evening  of  the  second  Thursday  of  the  ses- 
sions is  assigned  for  the  reception  of  Delegates  from  cor- 
responding bodies." 

"  8.  The  Stated  Clerk  shall  distinctly  announce  to  the 
Assembly  the  titles  of  all  papers  put  into  his  hands  for 
reference  before  they  are  so  referred."  * 

May  an  Elder  be  chosen  Moderator? 

In  the  Session  the  Pastor  or  some  other  Minister  of 
the  Presbytery  is  the  proper  Moderator.  In  emergen- 
cies, when  a  Minister  cannot  be  obtained  "  without  great 
inconvenience,"  an  Elder  may  preside.f 

In  the  higher  courts  such  an  emergency  cannot 
occur,  for  a  certain  number  of  Ministers  must  be 
present  to  form  a  quorum.  And  although  the  word 
"Minister"  is  not  used  in  describing  the  Moderator, 
several  ministerial  duties  are  required  of  him,  such 
as  preaching  a  sermon,  offering  the  ordaining  prayer, 
and  pronouncing  the  apostolic  benediction.  In  the 
Assembly  the  Moderators  have  always  been  Minis- 
ters.! 

How  shall  the  Moderator  open  and  close  the  meetings  of 
the  judicatoiy? 

The  Moderator  of  the  Session  shall  always  open 
and  close  the  meeting  with  prayer,  offered  by  him- 
self or   by  some  one   at   his   request. §     The  constitu-- 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  1879,  pp.  559-737.  f  See  pp.  126,  128. 

t  Minutes  O.  A.  1880,  pp.  188-190.  ^  See  p.  170. 


CLERKS.  499 

tion  requires  this  in  the  higher  courts.*  The  rule  is 
binding  also  on  the  Sessions.  The  Presbyteries  take 
exceptions  to  the  sessional  records  if  they  do  not  show 
that  the  meetings  are  opened  and  closed  with  prayer, 
and  are  sustained  in  this  by  the  Assembly.f 

What  is  an  Adsessor  ? 

In  the  Reformed  (Dutch)  Church  a  Vice-Moderator 
is  chosen,  and  called  the  Adsessor.  In  1878  a  propo- 
sition was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revision  of  the 
"Book  of  Discipline,"  that  a  similar  officer  be  elected 
annually  in  our  Assembly.  In  the  Church  of  Scotland 
the  Assessor  is  the  official  adviser  of  the  Moderator. J 


CHAPTER    XX. 

OF   CLERKS. 


What  is  a  Clerk? 

The  person  appointed  to  make  and  preserve  the  records 
of  a  meeting  is  called  the  Secretary  or  Clerk.  In 
courts  of  our  Church  this  officer  is  called  the  Clerk. 
"Every  judicatory  shall  choose  a  Clerk  to  record  their 
transactions,  whose  continuance  shall  he  during  pleasure. 
It  shall  he  the  duty  of  the  Clerk,  hesides  recording  the 
transactions,  to  preserve  the  records  carefully,  and  to 
grant  extracts  from  them  whenever  properly  required; 
and  such  extracts,  under  the  hand  of  the  Clerk,  shall  be 
considered  as  authentic  vouchers  of  the  fact  which  they 

*  Form  of  Government,  ch.  x.,  sect.  xi. ;  ch.  xi.,  sect.  v. ;  ch.  xii., 
sect.  viii.    See  pp.  229,  243,  280. 

t  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  194 ;  Minutes  G.  A.  1877,  p.  575.  See  pp. 
170,  497.  t  Ibid.,  1878,  p.  102. 


500  OF    CLERKS. 

declare,  in  avy  ecclesiastical  judicatory  and  to  every  part 
of  the  C/mrch." 

How  long  does  a  Clerk  continue  in  office? 

His  "continuance  shall  be  during  pleasure."  He  is  the 
permanent  officer  of  the  judicatory,  and  often  retains  his 
position  for  many  years.  At  first  the  Clerk  of  Presby- 
tery was  elected  at  each  meeting.  This  was  the  custom 
in  Synod  until  the  organization  of  the  Assembly.  In  1773 
the  Synod  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia  re-elected  the 
Clerks  of  the  preceding  year,  and  after  that  date  some- 
times re-elected  one  or  both  Clerks — not,  however,  con- 
tinuing them  in  office  longer  than  for  two  years.* 

Must  the  Clerk  be  a  member  of  the  judicatory  ? 

The  Moderator  and  Clerk  are  ministerial  officers.  "  In 
respect  to  their  office  they  are  servants  merely,  and  not 
members  of  the  body.  Of  the  Clerk  this  would  seem 
to  be  unquestionably  true."  "As  far  as  any  provision 
of  the  book  is  involved,  it  is  plain  that  a  judicatory  may 
select  any  convenient  person,  though  not  a  member,  to 
record  its  transactions  and  discharge  all  other  duties  per- 
taining to  a  Clerk.  For  the  part  of  those  duties  usually 
devolved  upon  a  temporary  Clerk  we  believe  it  is  no 
infrequent  thing  for  a  Presbytery  to  employ  a  Licen- 
tiate or  other  person,  not  a  member  of  the  body."  So 
the  N.  S.  Assembly  said  in  ISGl.f  Yet,  as  he  is  "  I'o 
preserve  the  records,"  he  should  be  under  the  control  of 
the  court. 

Who  is  the  Clerk  of  Session  ? 

Any  one  chosen  by  the  Session.  Generally,  he  is  a 
member  of  the  Session.  It  is  his  duty  to  make  a  true  rec- 
ord, which  must  be  approved  at  the  next  meeting,  to  take 

*  Presbyterian  Becords,  pp.  9,  48,  234,  291,  437. 
•j-  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  461 ;  New  Digest,  p.  176. 


STATED   CLERK.  501 

charge  of  the  books  and  papers,  to  give  certified  copies 
of  portions  when  properly  requested  (by  order  of  Session), 
to  issue  citations,  to  present  the  minutes  to  the  Presbytery 
for  its  review,  to  keep  the  sessional  registers  and  the  rec- 
ords of  congregational  meetings  called  by  the  Session.* 

Who  is  the  Clerk  of  Presbytery? 

One  chosen  by  the  Presbytery,  and  generally  a  mem- 
ber. His  duties  are  to  keep  the  record,  which  must  be 
submitted  to  the  Synod  for  review  every  year,  together 
with  a  full  report  of  changes  and  a  narrative  of  the  state 
of  religion.  A  similar  report  and  narrative  must  also 
be  sent  to  each  General  Assembly.f 

What  is  a  Stated  Clerk  ? 

In  the  Presbytery,  the  Synod  and  the  General  Assembly 
it  has  been  found  that  the  Clerk  needs  assistance,  especially 
during  the  meetings  of  those  judicatories.  The  Clerk  is 
called  the  Stated  Clerk,  to  distinguish  him  from  those 
appointed  to  help  him.  At  first,  the  Clerk  was  able  to 
perform  the  whole  duty  required,  but  after  the  union  of 
the  two  Synods  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia  his  work 
so  increased  that  in  1763  he  was  granted  an  assistant. 
They  were  called  the  Clerk  and  his  Assistant.^  At  the 
organization  of  the  Assembly  the  title  "Stated  Clerk" 
appears  in  describing  the  Clerk  of  that  body,  and  the 
Clerk  of  Presbytery,  of  Synod  and  of  the  General  As- 
sembly have  since  been  called  the  Stated  Clerk  of  those 
judicatories.!  His  salary  was  in  1870  fixed  at  $400  per 
annum.  In  addition  to  the  duties  described  above,  the 
Assembly  in  1801  added  that  of  notifying  the  Presbyte- 
ries if  their  commissioners  neglected  their  duties,  were 
inattentive  to  the  rules  of  decorum  or  left  the  Assembly 

*  See  pp.  165-170.  t  See  p.  226. 

X  Presbyterian  Records,  p.  322.  ?  New  Digest,  p.  174. 


502  OF   CLERKS. 

without  permission;  and  in  1807  that  of  printing  extracts 
of  the  minutes  and  distributing  the  copies  as  the  Assem- 
bly may  direct.  In  1871  he  was  made  also  the  Treasurer 
of  the  Assembly,  and  $100  was  added  to  his  salary.* 

What  power  has  the  Stated  Clerk  over  books  and 
papers  ? 

When  he  receives  them  from  a  former  Stated  Clerk  or 
other  parties,  he  should  give  a  receipt  for  the  same;  and 
he  shall  not  deliver  any  records  or  papers  in  his  posses- 
sion to  any  person,  except  by  the  order  of  the  Assembly, 
and  then  he  must  obtain  a  receipt.f  This  rule  applies 
also  to  Stated  Clerks  of  the  lower  courts.     App.,  p.  547. 

What  Is  a  Permanent  Clerk  ? 

In  1802  the  Assembly  declared  that  "the  business  of 
former  Assemblies  has  been  impeded  by  the  want  of  a 
Recording  Clerk  possessing  that  facility  in  the  business 
which  is  acquired  by  experience,"  and  "  it  is  not  to  be 
expected  that  any  one  person  should  perform  this  service 
permanently  without  receiving  an  adequate  compensation 
for  his  labor ;"  and  therefore  Resolved,  "  That  a  perma- 
nent Recording  Clerk  be  chosen,  whose  duty  it  shall  be 
from  year  to  year  to  draught  the  minutes  of  the  Assembly 
during  their  sessions,  and  afterward  to  perform  such  ser- 
vices respecting  the  transcribing,  printing  and  distributing 
the  extracts  as  shall  be  assigned  to  him  from  time  to  time; 
and  that  he  be  paid  out  of  the  funds  of  the  Assembly 
three  dollars  per  day  for  the  time  he  shall  be  employed, 
as  well  during  the  sessions  of  the  Assembly  as  after  their 
dissolution."  He  shall  be  furnished  with  stationery,  make 
the  original  draught  of  all  the  minutes,  and  "give  certified 
copies  as  occasion  may  require  of  all  such  as  may  be 
proper  to  be  transmitted  to  the  Trustees  of  the  General 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  209.  f  Assembly's  Digest,  p.  283. 


TEMPORARY    CLERK.  503 

Assembly  or  any  of  their  officers.''  After  the  adjourn- 
ment he  shall  carefully  revise  the  manuscript,  render  it 
correct  and  deliver  it  to  the  Stated  Clerk.  In  1870  the 
salary  of  the  Permanent  Clerk  was  fixed  at  $300  per 
annum.*  The  Permanent  Clerks  of  Presbyteries  and 
Synods  have  similar  duties.  In  the  smaller  Presbyteries 
they  are  not  needed. 

What  is  the  Temporary  Clerk  ? 

When  the  Assembly  in  1802  established  the  office  of 
Permanent  Clerk,  it  Resolved  also,  "  That  a  Temporary 
Clerk  be  chosen  by  each  Assembly,  as  heretofore,  to  read 
the  minutes  and  communications  to  the  Assembly,  and 
otherwise  aid  the  Permanent  Clerk  as  occasion  may  re- 
quire, and  that  he  be  paid  one  dollar  per  day  for  his  ser- 
vices." From  1856  the  N.  S.  Assembly  chose  two  Tem- 
porary Clerks.  In  the  O.  S.  Assembly  the  same  custom 
prevailed.  After  the  reunion  three  Temporary  Clerks 
were  found  necessary,  and  since  1873  four  have  been 
yearly  appointed. f  In  the  Presbyteries  and  Synods  one 
or  more  Temporary  Clerks  are  chosen  at  each  meeting. 
Temporary  Clerks  receive  generally  no  pecuniary  com- 
pensation. In  1880,  however,  the  Assembly  ordered 
that  the  Treasurer  pay  to  them  for  their  services  the 
sum  of  twenty-five  dollars  each,| 

What  is  an  acting  Permanent  Clerk  ? 

One  appointed  by  the  court  to  perform  the  duties  of 
the  Permanent  Clerk  in  the  case  of  his  absence  or  sick- 
ness. In  1881  the  Assembly,  hearing  of  the  continued 
ill-health  of  the  Permanent  Clerk,  Resolved,  "  That  we 
appoint   Rev.  William   H.  Roberts   acting   Permanent 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  210. 

t  Ibid.,  p.  211 ;  Minutes  Q.A.  1873,  p.  476 ;  1881,  p.  509. 

X  Minutes  G.  A.  1880,  p.  85. 


504  OF   VACANT    CONGREGATIONS. 

Clerk  for  the  coming  year,  assigning  him  the  duties 
and  the  pay  pertaining  to  the  office."  * 

Who  may  be  chosen  Clerk  ? 

He  is  usually,  but  not  necessarily,  a  member  of  the  ju- 
dicatory.f  In  the  General  Assembly  the  Stated  and  the 
Permanent  Clerks  are  often  not  commissioners.  Not  un- 
frequently  Elders  are  appointed,  especially  as  Temporary 
Clerks. J  In  1858  the  N.  S.  Assembly  decided  that  the 
privileges  of  corresponding  members  be  granted  to  their 
Stated  and  Permanent  Clerks  in  matters  pertaining  to 
their  official  duties.§  Since  the  reunion  these  privileges 
have  been  accorded  to  them. 


CHAPTER    XXI. 


OF  VACANT  CONGREGATIONS   ASSEMBLING    FOR   PUBLIC 
WORSHIP. 

What  are  the  benefits  to  be  expected  from  weekly  assem- 
blies of  the  people  ? 

"  Considering  the  great  importance  of  weekly  assembling 
the  people  for  the  public  worship  of  God,  in  order  thereby 
to  improve  their  knowledge,  to  confirm  their  habits  of  wor- 
ship and  their  desire  of  the  public  ordinances,  to  augment 
their  reverence  for  the  most  high  God,  and  to  promote  the 
cha^'itable  affections  which  unite  m-en  most  firmly  in  sod- 
ety." 

Should  vacant  congregations  hold  such  services  ? 

^'It  is  7'ecommendcd  that  every  vacant  congregation  meet 
together  on  the  Lord's  Day,  at  one  or  more  places,  for  the 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  1881,  p.  514,  f  See  p.  500. 

X  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  211.  §  New  Digest,  p.  167. 


VACANT   CHUECHES.  505 

'purpose  of  prayer,  singing  praises  and  reading  the  Holy 
'Scriptures,  together  with  the  works  of  such  approved  divines 
as  the  Presbytery,  within  whose  bounds  they  are,  may  recom- 
mend and  they  may  be  able  to  procure.''  The  Sessions  of 
vacant  churches  should  endeavor  to  obtain  a  Pastor  as 
soon  as  possible,*  and  to  obtain  the  services  of  a  Minis- 
ter on  every  Lord's  Day.  When  this  is  not  possible,  reg- 
ular services  should  be  maintained.  Services  should  also 
be,  when  practicable,  on  one  or  more  days  during  the  week, 
and  a  Sabbath-school  should  be  established  and  main- 
tained for  the  instruction  of  the  young,  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Session. t 

Wlio  shall  conduct  these  services  ? 

"  Thai  Elders  or  Deacons  be  the  persons  who  shall  pre- 
side and  select  portions  of  Scriptures  and  of  the  other  books 
to  be  read,  and  to  see  that  the  whole  be  conducted  in  a  be- 
coming and  orderly  manner."  These  duties  also  devolve 
upon  the  Elders  in  the  sickness  or  absence  of  the  Pastor, 
when  he  is  unable  to  procure  the  presence  of  another 
Minister.| 

May  an  Elder  explain  the  Scriptures  in  the  absence  of 
the  Pastor? 

The  O.  S.  Assembly  in  1856  decided  that  the  Presby- 
tery of  Louisiana  was  right  in  considering  "it  not  incon- 
sistent with  the  principles  of  our  Church  for  Ruling 
Elders,  in  the  absence  of  the  Pastor,  to  read  the  Scrip- 
tures and  explain  them,  and  to  endeavor  to  enforce  the 
truth  upon  the  conscience  by  suitable  exhortations."! 

Wliat  supervision  should  the  Presbytery  take  over  va- 
cant churches  ? 

The  Presbytery  should  take  special  charge  of  its  va- 

*  See  p.  328.  f  See  p.  55.  J  See  pp.  55,  80. 

2  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  462. 
43 


506      OF   COMMISSIONERS    TO   GENERAL    ASSEMBLY. 

cant  churches,*  and  should  interrogate  the  Elders  of 
such  churches  concerning  their  obedience  to  this  chapter 
of  the  "  Form  of  Government."  So  the  O.  S.  Assembly 
in  1847.t 


CHAPTER    XXII. 

OF  COMMISSIONERS   TO  THE  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY. 

I.  Wlio  are  commissioners  to  the  General  Assembly  ? 

They  are  the  representatives  of  the  Presbyteries  and 
members  of  the  General  Assembly.^ 

When  are  they  elected? 

"The  commissioners  to  the  General  Assembly  shall  always 
be  appointed  by  the  Presbytery  from  which  tJiey  come  at  its 
last  stated  meeting  immediately  preceding  the  meeting  of  the 
General  Assembly;  provided  that  there  be  a  snffi,cient  in- 
terval between  that  time  and  the  meeting  of  the  Assembly 
for  the  commissioners  to  attend  to  their  duty  in  due  season  ; 
otherwise  the  Presbytery  shall  make  the  appointment  at  any 
slated  meeting  not  more  than  seven  months  preceding  the 
meeting  of  the  Assembly." 

Can  a  commissioner  be  received  without  a  formal  elec- 
tion? 

All  irregularities  must  be  reported  to  the  Assembly  by 
its  Committee  on  Elections,  and  be  judged  by  that  body 
before  the  commissioner  can  take  his  seat.  In  the  O.  S. 
Assembly,  Ministers  and  Ruling  Elders  were  admitted 
when  it  was  made  evident  that  small  or  missionary  Pres- 
byteries designed  to  make  the  appointment,  but  failed  to 
do  so  for  want  of  a  quorum  at  the  spring  meeting,  and 

*  See  pp.  211-214.         f  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  462.         %  See  p.  248. 


COMMISSIONERS    FROM    NEW    PRESBYTERIES.      507 

when,  though  the  election  had  been  made,  the  commis- 
sion had  been  delayed,  and  when  a  missionary  Presby- 
tery had  elected  before  the  time  prescribed  by  the  con- 
stitution. Eacli  case  must  be  judged  on  its  own  merits, 
and  therefore  there  is  sometimes  a  real  or  apparent  in- 
consistency in  the  decisions.  In  1843  the  Assembly  re- 
fused to  admit  Rev.  D.  M.  Smith.  The  Presbytery  had 
failed  to  obtain  a  quorum  at  its  spring  meeting;  those 
present  requested  the  Assembly  to  receive  him  as  a  com- 
missioner, and  two  absent  Ministers  joined  in  the  request; 
and  it  was  believed  that  had  there  been  a  meeting  his 
election  would  have  been  unanimous.  Yet,  in  1865, 
Elder  H.  Smith  was  admitted  on  the  request  of  several 
Ministers  and  Elders  of  a  Presbytery  which  for  two  years 
had  been  unable  to  obtain  a  quorum.* 

Can  commissioners  from  newly-organized  Presbyteries  be 
received? 

In  1822  the  Assembly  adopted  as  a  standing  rule  that 
such  commissioners  must  produce  satisfactory  evidence 
that  their  Presbyteries  have  been  regularly  organized  ac- 
cording to  the  constitution,  and  are  in  connection  with 
the  General  Assembly,  and  that  they  may  furnish  such 
evidence  before  the  election  of  a  Moderator.  In  1837  it 
was  further  required  that  such  Presbyteries  must  be  duly 
reported  by  the  Synod  with  which  they  are  connected, 
and  the  same  rule  was  applied  to  Presbyteries  whose 
names  have  been  changed.  If  the  Assembly  is  con- 
vinced that  any  new  Presbytery  has  been  formed  to  in- 
crease unduly  the  representation,  the  Assembly  may,  on 
a  majority  vote,  not  only  refuse  to  receive  the  commis- 
sioners, but  require  the  Synod  to  reunite  the  new  Pres- 
bytery to  that  to  which  it  formerly  belonged.f 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  463,  464.  t  Ibid.,  p.  465. 


508      OF   COMMISSIONERS    TO    GENERAL    ASSEMBLY. 

May  a  "Committee-man"  be  elected  a  commissioner? 

The  constitution  requires  that  "  the  General  Assembly- 
shall  consist  of  an  equal  delegation  of  Bishops  and  Elders 
from  each  Presbytery."  *  But  under  the  "  Plan  of  Union  " 
members  of  the  Standing  Committee  of  Churches  formed 
under  its  provisions  were  received  as  delegates  to  Pres- 
byteries, and  had  there  all  the  rights  of  ordained  Ruling 
Elders.  By  degrees  these  Committee-men  were  admitted 
as  members  of  Synod  and  General  Assembly.  But  in 
1831  this  was  declared  to  be  inexpedient  and  of  ques- 
tionable constitutionality.  The  next  year  the  Assembly 
refused  to  recognize  their  election. f 

May  a  commissioner  leave  before  the  close  of  the  As- 
sembly? 

In  case  of  real  necessity  he  may  obtain  permission  to 
do  so  from  the  Committee  of  Leave  of  Absence.  But 
the  Assembly  has  repeatedly  enjoined  the  Presbyteries 
to  appoint  "as  commissioners  those  only  who  are  able 
and  willing  to  remain  to  the  close  of  its  sessions,  to  the 
end  that  all  the  work  of  the  Assembly  may  be  performed 
by  all  its  members."  Commissioners  are  required  to 
make  their  arrangements  to  be  present  through  the  whole 
session  of  the  Assembly,  and  to  report  of  their  fidelity 
in  this  matter,  which  should  be  recorded  on  the  minutes 
of  the  Presbytery.  The  Clerk  of  the  Assembly  is  re- 
quired to  notify  the  Presbyteries  when  their  commission- 
ers neglect  their  duties  or  leave  without  permission, | 

What  is  meant  by  the  "principal"  and  "alternate"  com- 
missioners ? 

The  principal  is  the  one  elected  to  represent  the  Pres- 
bytery.    "And  as  much  as  possible  to  prevent  all  failure 

*  Form  of  Government,  ch.  xii.,  sect.  ii.     See  pp.  248,  512. 

\  Presbyterian  Digest,  i\  i66.  Seep.  263.  | /6irf.,  j).  465.  Seep.  501. 


PRINCIPAL  AND  ALTERNATE  COMMISSIONERS.      509 

in  the  representation  of  the  Presbyteries,  arising  from  un- 
foreseen accidents  to  those  first  appointed,  it  may  be  expe- 
dient for  each  Presbytery,  in  the  room  of  each  commissioner, 
to  appoint  also  an  alternate  commissioner  to  supply  his 
place  in  case  of  necessary  absence." 

May  a  commissioner  after  taking  Ms  seat  resign  to  Ms 
alternate? 

This  was  permitted  until  1827,  when  it  was  Resolved, 
"  That  in  the  judgment  of  this  General  Assembly  the 
construction  of  the  constitution  ('  Form  of  Government,' 
eh.  xxii.,  sect,  i.)  which  allows  commissioners,  after  hold- 
ing their  seats  for  a  time,  to  resign  them  to  their  alter- 
nates, or  which  allows  alternates  to  sit  for  a  while  and 
then  resign  their  places  to  their  principals,  is  erroneous ; 
that  the  practice  growing  out  of  this  construction  is  in- 
expedient, and  that  it  ought  to  be  discontinued."  The 
Assembly,  has,  however,  several  times,  "  under  the  pe- 
culiar circumstances  of  the  case,"  permitted  alternates  to 
give  up  their  seats  to  their  principals,  and  the  O.  S.  As- 
sembly in  one  case  at  least  allowed  the  principal  to  re- 
sign in  favor  of  his  alternate.  These  were  regarded  as 
exceptions  "  under  peculiar  circumstances."  The  reasons 
for  the  above  decision  should  not  be  lightly  laid  aside. 
It  should  be  remembered  that  "the  practice  (of  these 
changes)  is  thought  to  be  derogatory  to  the  dignity  and 
usefulness  of  the  General  Assembly."*  No  change  can 
be  permitted  during  the  hearing  of  a  judicial  case. 

Does  this  rule  apply  to  adjourned  meetings  ? 

An  adjourned  meeting  is  the  continuation  of  the  ses- 
sions of  the  same  body;  and,  as  in  Presbyteries  and 
Synods,  so  in  the  Assembly,  an  adjourned  meeting 
should  be  composed  of  the  same  commissioners.     This 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  467,  468. 
43* 


510     OF   COMMISSIONERS   TO   GENERAL   ASSEMBLY. 

was  the  direction  given  by  the  N.  S.  Assembly  when  in- 
forming the  Presbyteries  that  the  two  Assemblies  would 
hold  adjourned  meetings  at  Pittsburg  to  consummate  the 
reunion  in  the  fall  of  1869.  The  O.  S.  Assembly,  how- 
ever, when  it  met  according  to  its  adjournment,  decided 
that  all  alternates  whose  principals  were  absent  should  be 
admitted,  and  informed  the  other  Assembly  of  this  action.* 

n.  How  are  commissioners  to  be  certified  ? 

"Each  commissioner,  before  his  name  shall  be  enrolled 
as  a  member  of  the  Assembly,  shall  produce  from  his  Pres- 
bytery a  commission,  under  the  hand  of  the  Moderator  and 
Clerk,  in  the  following  or  like  form,  viz.:" 

"The  Presbytery  of ,  being  met  at on  the 

—  day  of ,  doth  hereby  appoint  ,  Bishop 

of  the  congregation  of [or ,  Ruling  Elder 

in  the  congregation  of ,  as  the  case  may  be\,  (to 

which  the  Presbytery  may,  if  they  think  prop&r,  make  a 
substitution  in  the  following  form),  or  in  case  of  his  absence, 

then  ,  Bishop  of  the  congregation  of [or 

,  Puling  Elder  in  the  congregation  of ,  as 

the  case  may  6e],  to  be  a  commissioner  on  behalf  of  this 
Presbytery  to  the  next  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian Church  in  the  United  States  of  America,  to  meet  at 
,  on  the  —  day  of ,  A.  D. ,  or  when- 
ever the  said  Assembly  may  happen  to  sit ;  to  consult,  vote 
and  determine  on  all  things  that  may  come  before  that  body, 
according  to  the  principles  and  constitution  of  this  Chwch 
and  the  word  of  God.  And  of  his  diligence  herein  he  is  to 
render  an  account  at  his  retw'n." 

"Signed  by  order  of  Hie  Presbytery, 

" ,  Moderator. 

" ,  Clerk:' 

*  See  p.  277. 


COMMITTEE   ON   ELECTIONS.  511 

"And  the  Presbytery  shall  make  record  of  the  appoint- 
ment." 

What  is  the  "  Committee  on  Commissions  "  ? 

The  General  Assembly  is  opened  by  a  sermon  by  the 
Moderator  of  the  previous  year,  and  is  by  him  constituted 
svith  prayer.  After  which,  according  to  the  rules  of  or- 
ganization adopted  in  1826,  the  Moderator  shall  appoint 
a  Committee  on  Commissions.  The  Assembly  shall  take 
a  recess  to  afford  time  for  the  committee  to  examine  the 
commissions  of  those  claiming  to  be  members.  In  the 
afternoon  of  the  same  day  the  committee  shall  report  the 
names  of  those  whose  commissions  are  regular,  and  the 
roll  is  thus  determined ;  and  the  Assembly  shall  be  ready 
for  business.  In  1829  the  Permanent  and  Stated  Clerks 
were  appointed  a  Standing  Committee  of  Commissions, 
and  it  was  determined  that  hereafter  all  commissions  De 
handed  to  this  committee  on  the  morning  of  the  day  on 
which  this  Assembly  opens,  previous  to  eleven  o'clock, 
and  that  any  presented  during  the  sessions  of  the  Assem- 
bly be  handed  to  this  committee.* 

What  is  the  "  Committee  on  Elections  "  ? 

After  the  Committee  on  Commissions  has  reported,  those 
members  whose  commissions  are  approved  take  their  seats, 
"and  the  first  act  of  the  Assembly,  when  thus  ready  for 
business,  shall  be  the  appointment  of  a  Committee  on 
Elections,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  examine  all  informal 
and  unconstitutional  commissions,  and  to  report  on  the 
same  as  soon  as  practicable."  *  It  would  seem  that  the 
report  of  this  committee  must  be  handed  in  and  acted 
upon,  and  the  roll  of  the  Assembly  thus  completed, 
before  the  Moderator  and  Temporary  Clerks  could  be 

*  Assembly's  Digest,  p.  295;  New  Digest,  p.  156;  Presbyterian  Digest, 
p.  202. 


512      OF   COMMISSIONERS   TO   GENERAL   ASSEMBLY. 

elected.*  But  at  present  the  rule  is  to  proceed  with  the 
election  of  the  Moderator  and  Clerks  after  hearing  the 
report  of  the  Committee  on  Commissions,  and  the  Com- 
mittee of  Elections  is  appointed  by  the  new  Moderator 
when  he  forms  the  standing  committees.f 
What  irregularities  are  found  in  commissions? 

1.  No  commission,  but  some  testimony  of  appointment. 

2.  An  extract  from  minutes,  signed  by  the  Stated 
C^lerk. 

3.  A  commission  lacking  proper  signatures. 

4.  Without  date. 

5.  Dated  more  than  seven  months  before. 

6.  Not  in  due  form. 

7.  From  Presbyteries  not  reported  by  the  Synods. 

8.  No  commission,  but  satisfactory  proof  of  the  wish 
of  a  missionary  Presbytery  which  could  not  meet  for  a 
formal  election. 

9.  The  commission  lost  or  delayed  in  transmission. 
The  usage  is  that  where  satisfactory  evidence  is  given  of 
the  actual  appointment  of  the  commissioner  his  name  is 
enrolled.! 

10.  Too  many  commissioners  are  sent. 

Can  the  Assembly  go  behind  the  commission  ? 

In  1826  the  Assembly  was  informed  that  one  of  its 
members  was  not  an  ordained  Elder,  but  appointed,  it 
was  supposed,  under  the  Plan  of  Union.  The  Assembly 
said.  Every  Presbytery  must  judge  of  the  qualifications 
of  its  own  members,  and  the  Assembly  can  only  take 
notice  by  way  of  appeal  or  reference  or  complaint.  '•  It 
would  be  a  dangerous  precedent,  and  would  lead  to  the 

*  Assembly's  Digest,  p.  281. 

t  See  Minutes  of  G.  Assembly  since  1872. 

X  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  469;  Assembly's  Digest,  p.  285. 


commissioners'  fund.  513 

destruction  of  all  order  in  the  Church  of  Christ,  to  per- 
mit unauthorized  verbal  testimony  to  set  aside  an  authen- 
ticated written  document."  * 

Who  are  to  be  rejected  when  a  Presbytery  sends  more 
than  its  proportion  of  commissioners? 

The  O.  S.  Assembly  decided  that  in  such  cases  those 
last  appointed  should  be  rejected,  their  election  being  in- 
valid and  out  of  order.f 

m.  How  are  the  expenses  of  the  commissioners  to  be  met? 

"Jri  order,  as  far  as  possible,  to  procwe  a  respectable 
and  full  delegation  to  all  of  our  judicatories,  it  is  proper 
that  the  expenses  of  Ministers  and  Elders  in  their  attend- 
ance on  these  judicatories  be  defrayed  by  the  bodies  which 
they  respectively  represent."  In  1792  the  Assembly  or- 
dered "  that  each  Presbytery  pay  their  own  commission- 
ers for  the  future  and  for  attending  the  present  Assem- 
bly." In  1803  the  expense  of  attending  the  Assembly 
from  distant  Presbyteries  was  referred  to  the  Presbyte- 
ries, and  the  following  year  it  was  recommended  that  the 
Presbyteries  of  the  Synod  of  New  York  and  New  Jersey 
and  of  the  Synod  of  Philadelphia  advise  their  churches 
to  take  an  annual  collection  to  aid  in  the  payment  of  the 
expenses  of  commissioners  from  the  more  distant  parts  of 
the  country,  and  that  the  money  be  placed  in  the  hands 
of  the  Treasurer  of  the  corporation,  and  paid  to  the  per- 
sons who  may  attend  as  commissioners,  according  to  the 
direction  of  the  Assembly.* 

What  was  the  Commissioners'  Fund  ? 

It  originated  from  the  above  action.  In  1806  and  1807 
a  more  comprehensive  plan  was  adopted,  by  which  all  the 
churches  were  urged  to  contribute  annually  to  this  Com- 
missioners' Fund,  and  in  1833  a  similar  recommendation 
*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  470.  f  Assembly  s  Digest,  p.  285. 

2ir 


514      OF   COMMISSIONERS   TO   GENERAL  ASSEMBLY. 

was  passed.*  In  1801  Presbyteries  were  advised,  in  their 
settlements  with  their  commissioners,  to  allow  no  compen- 
sation for  services  as  members  of  the  Assembly  if  they 
neglected  their  duty,  were  inattentive  to  the  rules  of  de- 
corum, abruptly  left  the  Assembly  or  returned  home 
without  leave  of  absence.  In  1818  it  was  required  that 
the  member  entitled  to  draw  from  this  fund  make  writ- 
ten and  full  application  within  three  days  after  the  ap- 
pointment of  the  Committee  on  the  Commissioners'  Fund, 
or  forfeit  his  portion  of  said  fund.  In  1 827  it  was  ordered 
that  if  a  commissioner  obtained  leave  of  absence  within 
the  first  six  days  of  the  session  of  the  Assembly,  he  shall 
receive  no  part  of  the  fund,  save  by  the  order  of  the 
Assembly.  And  in  1833  Presbyteries  not  contributing 
to  this  fund  were  declared  not  entitled  to  draw  from  it 
for  their  commissioners ;  and  certain  other  Presbyteries 
were  permitted  to  draw  only  the  amount  which  they 
had  respectively  paid  in.f 

What  was  the  Committee  on  Mileage  ? 

The  money  contributed  to  the  Commissioners'  Fund 
was  placed  in  the  hands  of  a  Committee  on  Mileage,  and 
distributed  to  those  commissioners  who  claimed  it  in  con- 
formity with  the  above  decision,  according  to  the  number 
of  miles  traveled  by'each  to  the  place  of  meeting.  This 
seems  to  have  been  the  usage  before  the  division,  and 
afterward  in  both  Assemblies.  The  N.  S.  Assembly  in 
1856  proposed  to  the  Presbyteries  an  addition  to  the  con- 
stitution on  this  subject,  but  a  majority  of  the  Presbyte- 
ries took  no  action.  In  1857  the  following  recommenda- 
tions were  adopted:  Presbyteries  were  urged  to  contribute 
annually  their  full  proportion,  which  shall  be  determined 

*  Presbyterian  Digest,  p.  471. 

t  New  Digest,  pp.  174,  179;  Assembly's  Digest,  p.  299. 


EXPENSES   OF  COMMISSIONERS.  515 

by  the  number  of  communicants,  and  apportioned  among 
the  churches  as  the  Presbyteries  think  best.  The  Standing 
Committee  on  Mileage  shall  report  the  amount  needed  for 
the  traveling  expenses  of  the  commissioners  and  the  ex- 
penses of  the  next  Assembly,  and  the  rate  that  will  be 
adequate.  Before  the  fourth  day  of  th^  session  the 
amount  contributed  shall  be  paid  to  the  Committee  on 
Mileage,  and  each  commissioner  shall  present  his  bill  for 
necessary  traveling  expenses  and  mileage.  These  bills 
shall  be  paid  as  far  as  possible,  after  deducting  from  the 
fund  the  expenses  of  the  Assembly.  Only  those  com- 
missioners can  apply  whose  Presbyteries  have  sent  their 
full  proportion  to  the  fund.  Each  Minister  and  vacant 
church  of  Presbyteries  contributing  the  full  quota  shall 
receive  a  copy  of  the  Minutes.  The  rate  for  the  year 
1858  was  five  cents  for  each  communicant.* 

Wliat  plan  was  adopted  at  the  reunion  ? 

The  same  plan  was  adopted  at  the  reunion,  except  that 
the  bills  of  commissioners  must  be  handed  to  the  com- 
mittee before  the  fifth  day  (instead  of  the  fourth),t  and 
that  commissioners  from  Presbyteries  in  foreign  lands 
shall  receive  their  necessary  traveling  expenses  pro  rata 
from  their  place  of  residence  in  this  country.  The  as- 
sessment for  the  Commissioners'  and  Contingent  Funds 
for  1871  was  fixed  at  six  cents  per  communicant.  In 
1880  it  was  made  for  the  next  year  five  cents  per  com- 
municant. In  1873  it  was  found  that  this  plan  was  ac- 
ceptable and  worked  well.  Out  of  158  Presbyteries — 
which  number  includes  a  part  of  the  freed  men  and  for- 
eign Presbyteries — not  one  failed  to  pay  the  full  assess- 
ment, and  all  the  claims  for  mileage  were  fully  met. J 

*■  New  Digest,  pp.  181-184 ;  Presbyterian  Digest,  pp.  471,  472. 

f-  See  p.  516.         J  Pres.  Dig.,  pp.  472-474  ;  Minutes  G.  A.  ISSO,  p.  184. 


516      OP   COMMISSIONERS   TO   GENERAL   ASSEMBLY. 

In  1875  the  commissioners  were  required  hereafter  to 
present  their  bills  as  early  as  the  fourth  day  of  the  ses- 
sion. The  Assembly  further  explained  that  "  it  is  un- 
derstood that  commissioners,  both  in  coming  to  and  re- 
turning from  the  Assembly,  will  avail  themselves  of  any 
commutation  of  fares  that  may  be  offered  in  season,  and 
that  in  other  cases  they  are  to  take,  when  practicable,  the 
most  economical  route;  no  allowance  to  be  made  for 
extra  accommodations  on  the  way.  Also,  that  no  one 
will  charge  for  return  expenses  unless  he  intends  to  go 
back  to  his  field  of  labor,  and  that  no  one  on  a  business- 
tour  or  excursion  of  pleasure  will  make  a  convenience  of 
the  meeting  of  the  Assembly  and  expect  payment  for  his 
traveling  expenses  from  the  Mileage  Fund."  The  Com- 
mittee of  Arrangements  for  the  respective  Assemblies 
shall  early  announce  (not  later,  if  practicable,  than  the 
first  week  of  May)  what  arrangements  have  been  made 
for  commutation  of  railroad  and  steamboat  fares.* 

What  is  "  the  Supplemental  Contingent  Expense  Fund  "  ? 

Since  the  reunion  the  Assembly  has  been  so  large  a 
body,  and  with  so  much  business  to  transact,  that  the 
invitations  to  entertain  it  have  been  very  few.  Various 
plans  have  been  proposed  for  decreasing  the  size  of  the 
Assembly  by  a  change  in  the  representation,f  but  these 
have  been  rejected  by  the  Presbyteries.  In  1877,  with 
a  view  to  immediate  relief  in  the  difficulties  attending 
the  entertainment  of  the  Assembly,  it  was  Resolved, 
"  That  in  addition  to  the  mileage  assessment  the  Pres- 
byteries be  instructed  to  forward  yearly  an  assessment 
of  two  cents  per  church-member  to  the  Treasurer  of  the 
Assembly,  to  constitute  a  Supplemental  Contingent  Ex- 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  1S75,  p.  469;  1S78,  p.  227 ;  1879,  p.  607. 
I  See  p.  249. 


POWER   TO   ASSESS   CHURCHES.  517 

pense  Fund.  This  fund  shall  be  disbursed  from  year  to 
year  by  the  Committee  of  Arrangements,  and  be  used  for 
the  purpose  of  meeting  the  expense  of  entertaining  such 
commissioners  as  are  not  otherwise  provided  for;  and 
that  the  Treasurer  be  authorized  to  pay  the  account  of 
the  Committee  of  Arrangements  after  it  has  been  ap- 
proved by  the  Finance  Committee  of  the  Assembly."  * 
This  is  often  called  the  Entertainment  Fund.  The  ap- 
portionment for  this  fund  for  1882  is  one^nd  one-half 
cents  per  communicant.f 

Has  a  chiirch  court  the  power  to  assess  a  tax  upon  the 
churches  ? 

"  None  of  our  church  courts  are  clothed  with  power 
to  assess  a  tax  upon  the  churches.  Apportionments  to 
meet  the  expenses  of  the  several  bodies  may  be  made, 
but  the  payment  depends  upon  that  voluntary  liberality 
which  flows  from  the  enlightened  consciences  of  the  peo- 
ple, who  may  confidently  be  relied  upon  to  return  what- 
ever is  necessary  for  the  conduct  of  our  ecclesiastical 
business."  If  the  Presbyteries  choose  to  pay  only  the 
expenses  of  their  own  commissioners,  "the  Assembly 
cannot  require  them  to  contribute  to  the  general  fund." 
Yet  "  each  Presbytery  is  hereby  earnestly  requested  to 
contribute  annually  its  full  proportion  for  the  Commis- 
sioners' and  Contingent  Funds  of  the  General  Assembly."  % 

Can  a  claim  for  mileage  be  made  after  the  adjournment 
of  the  General  Assembly  ? 

The  Assembly  only  can  act  upon  such  a  claim.  In 
1878  a  commissioner  from  the  Presbytery  of  Santa  Fe, 
who  had  been  in  the  previous  Assembly,  presented  a 
claim  for  $154  due  him  since  last  year  from  the  Mileage 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  1877,  pp.  545,  570.  f  Ibid.,  1881,  p.  581. 

X  Ibid.,  1878,  pp.  67,  68. 
44 


518      OP   COMMISSIONERS    TO   GENERAL   ASSEMBLY. 

Fund,  and  the  Assembly  instructed  the  Treasurer  to 
pay  it."* 

What  is  done  with  the  balances  of  the  Mileage  and  En- 
tertainment Funds  ? 

The  balances  of  the  Mileage  Fund  and  of  the  Enter- 
tainment Fund  are  paid  to  the  Treasurer  of  the  General 
Assembly,  and  go  to  the  account  of  the  next  year.f 

Do  commissioners  receive  the  printed  Minutes  ? 

"  Every  Minister  and  every  vacant  church  contributing 
to  this  fund  (Mileage  Fund)  connected  with  the  Presby- 
teries, thus  complying  with  the  provisions  of  this  plan, 
shall  be  entitled  to  a  copy  of  the  annual  Minutes  of  the 
General  Assembly."  |  In  1880  the  Assembly  Eesolved, 
"  That  the  Stated  Clerk  forward  a  copy  of  the  printed 
Minutes  to  every  Elder  who  is  a  commissioner  in  this 
Assembly,  provided  he  forwards  his  P.  O.  address,  and 
that  the  Presbytery  which  he  represents  has  paid  its 
quota  to  the  Mileage  Fund."§ 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  1878,  p.  100.  f  Ibid.,  1880,  p.  73. 

X  Pres.  Big.,  p.  473.  §  Minutes  G.  A.  1880,  p.  85 ;  1881,  p.  553. 


APPENDIX. 


CONTAINING  THE  DECISIONS  AND  EECOMMENDA- 

TIONS  OF  THE  GENEEAL  ASSEMBLIES   OF 

1882  AND  1883. 


ADDENDA. 


To  p.  31 :  Multiplication  of  churcties. 

"  It  is  inexpedient  and  contrary  to  the  exj^ressed  spirit 
of  the  Chnrch  to  multiply  church  organizations  in  any 
field  already  well  supplied  with  gospel  privileges,  and 
especially  so  when  the  churches  occupying  the  field  are 
closely  related  to  us  in  doctrine  and  polity.  .  .  .  We 
think  it  unwise,  and  a  waste  of  the  means  and  power  of 
the  Church,  to  organize  separate  churches  wheu  the  per- 
sons desiring  such  organizations  are  not  only  few  in  num- 
ber, but  may  Ije  supplied  with  church  privileges  by  ex- 
isting Presbyterian  churches."  * 

To  pp.  31,  33,  199:  May  an  Evangelist  organize 
churches  and  ordain  Ministers  in  a  foreign  field? 

"  Under  the  existing  law  of  the  Church,  Presbyteries 
only  are  competent  to  ordain  Ministers ;  and  the  Assem- 
bly also  judges  that  churches  organized  in  foreign  mis- 
sionary-fields, where  no  Presbytery  exists,  may,  with  the 

*3nnules  G.  A.  1882,  p.  96. 

619 


520  APPENDIX. 

consent  of  the  Synod,  be  enrolled  by  the  Presbytery  to 
which  the  Missionary  on  the  field  belongs."  * 

To  pp.  57,  285 :  Are  persons  who  do  not  accept  the 
teaching  of  the  Church  regarding  infant  baptism  eligible 
to  the  office  of  Ruling  Elder  or  Deacon  ? 

"A  faithful  acceptance  of  the  Confession  of  Faith  is 
required  of  those  who  accept  office  in  our  churches ;  and 
if  any  cannot  faithfully  accept  this  Confession  of  Faith, 
they  should  decline  office  in  the  Church."  f 

To  p.  58  :  Resignation  of  Ruling  Elder  or  Deacon. 

"  The  resignation  should  be  to  the  Session ;  and  it  will 
take  effect  when  accepted."  J 

To  p.  70 :  Term-Deacons. 

"  The  overture  "  ("  Does  chapter  xiii.,  section  viii.,  au- 
thorize a  church  to  elect  term-Deacons  as  well  as  term- 
Elders  ?")  "  be  answered  in  the  negative."  J 

To  p.  75 :  Book  of  Forms. 

"  In  view  of  the  action  of  previous  General  Assem- 
blies on  this  subject,  and  the  liberty  which  belongs  to 
each  Minister  to  avail  himself  of  the  Calvinistic  or  other 
ancient  devotional  forms  of  the  Reformed  churches  so  far 
as  may  seem  to  him  for  edification,  it  is  inexpedient  for 
this  General  Assembly  to  make  any  special  order  in  the 
premises."  § 

To  pp.  79,  424 :  Sabbath-School  Hymnal. 

"  That  a  collection  of  hymns  suitable  for  use  in  meetings 
for  social  prayer  and  in  the  Sunday-school  should  be  pro- 
vided by  the  Presbyterian  Church  for  use  by  its  churches." 
The  Board  of  Publication  are  directed  to  prepare  and 
publish,  as  soon  as  practicable,  such  a  hymn-book. || 

*  Minutes  O.  A.  18S2,  p.  96.  f  Ibid.,  p.  98. 

X  Ibid.,  1883,  p.  626.  ?  Ibid.,  1882,  p.  95. 

II  Ibid.,  p.  42. 


APPENDIX.  521 

To  p.  136 :  Admission  and  Communion  of  Friends. 

"  1.  Can  one  be  admitted  to  membership  in  the  Pres- 
byterian Church,  who  has  not  received  water  baptism  in 
any  mode,  and  who  does  not  believe  in  other  baptism 
than  the  baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost?  2.  If  not,  can 
such  persons — e.  g.  Quakers — be  invited  to  the  Lord's 
table  ?"  The  Assembly  answered  the  first  question  in 
the  negative,  and  referred  "  the  Presbytery  to  the  Direc- 
tory for  Worship,  chapter  viii.,  section  iv.,  in  regard  to 
the  proper  qualifications  of  communicants."  * 

To  pp.  116,  220 :  Discipline  of  other  clmrclies  to  be  re- 
spected. 

"  The  Presbytery  of  Furrukhabad  erred  in  receiving 

and  restoring  to  the  ministry  the  said  while  he 

was  under  sentence  of  deposition  by  the  Presbytery  of 
Saharanpur  "  (of  the  Reformed  Presbyterian  Church). f 
..."  This  Assembly  directs  the  Presbytery  of  Fur- 
rukhabad to  reconsider  its  action  and  proceed  according 
to  the  requirements  of  the  Constitution,  as  provided  for 
the  guidance  of  our  Presbyteries  in  similar  circumstances 
between  themselves."  | 

To  p.  142 :  Dismissal  of  baptized  members. 

"  When  parents,  with  their  families,  are  dismissed  to 
other  churches,  the  names  of  the  baptized  children  who 
have  neither  come  to  years  of  discretion  nor  become 
communicants  should  be  embraced  in  the  certificates 
given."  § 

To  p.  148 :  Communicants  dropped  from  roll. 

Members  of  the  Church  withdrawing  to  connect  them- 
selves with  other  denominations  are  to  be  dropped  from 
the  roll,  "  the  reasons  thereof  being  recorded."  § 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  1883,  p.  627.  f  See  p.  530. 

X  Ibid.,  p.  628.  I  Ibid.,  1882,  p.  98. 


522  APPENDIX. 

To  p.  152:  Communicants  mistaken. 

"  It  is  recommended  that  the  names  of  persons  who 
think  themselves  mistaken  in  their  convictions  be  placed 
on  the  separate  roll  of  members  already  provided  by  the 
Assembly,  in  the  hope  that  new  light  will  bring  stronger 
convictions."  * 

To  p.  159:  Session  should  appoint  the  Sabbath- school 
Superintendent. 

"  The  Assembly  earnestly  recommends  the  Sessions 
of  all  our  churches,  in  the  exercise  of  their  right,  to  ap- 
point the  Superintendent,  and  maintain  a  careful  and 
authoritative  supervision  of  all  the  Sabbath-school  work 
of  their  congregations  and  mission  enterprises."  * 

"  The  General  Assembly  again  emphasizes  the  duty 
of  the  church  Session  to  exercise  supervision  over  their 
Sabbath-schools,  especially  in  the  choice  of  officers  and 
teachers."  f 

To  ]).  159:  Sabbatli-school  collections. 

"That  Pastors  and  Sessions  be  urgently  requested  to 
maintain  a  careful  supervision  of  the  objects  for  which 
collections  are  made  in  the  Sabbath-schools,  and  to  se- 
cure their  contributions  to  our  own  benevolent  causes, 
giving  due  prominence  to  the  Sabbath-school  work  of 
this  Board "  (Publication).*  This  was  reiterated  the 
next  year.f 

To  p.  221 :  Sessional  records. 

"  1.  Does  the  right  of  '  General  Review  and  Control ' 
extend  to  statistical  items  of  baptism  and  administration 
of  the  Lord's  Supper,  inserted  for  record  and  convenience 
of  reference,  in  chronological  order,  between  the  minutes 
of  actual  proceedings  ?" 

"  2.  Can  the  Presbytery  pass  rules  for  the  conduct  of 
*  Mmutea  G.  A.  18S2,  pp.  98,  49.  f  Ibid.,  1883,  p.  616. 


APPENDIX.  523 

church  Sessions,  and  then  take  exceptions  to  the  proceed- 
ings of  church  Sessions  that  are  not  according  to  said 
rules,  when  the  rules  are  not  prescribed  by  our  Form 
of  Government  or  Book  of  Discipline?" 

Both  these  questions  were  answered  in  the  negative.* 

To  p.  169 :  Roll  of  baptized  members. 

"  Churches  are  urged  to  keep  a  full  and  permanent 
roll  of  all  baptized  children,  and  carefully  to  note  their 
public  confession  of  Christ,  their  passing  beyond  the 
watch  and  care  of  the  Church,  or  their  removal  by 
death."  t 

To  pp.  176,  257 :  Presbytery  formed  beyond  bounds  of 
a  Sjmod. 

The  General  Assembly,  on  petition  of  the  Presbytery 
of  Oregon,  organized  the  Presbytery  of  Alaska,  and 
ordered  "  that  the  boundaries  of  the  Presbytery  be  co- 
terminous with  the  Territory  of  Alaska,  and  that  the 
Presbytery  of  Alaska  be  attached  to  the  Synod  of 
Columbia."  * 

To  p.  207  :  Probation  of  Ministers  from  Canada. 

"  Inasmuch  as  the  rule  requiring  such  probation  has 
been  repealed  as  to  Ministers  from  the  Presbyterian 
churches  of  Great  Britain,  that  the  said  rule  be  repeal- 
ed as  far  as  it  relates  to  Ministers  coming  from  the 
Presbyterian  churches  of  Canada."  J 

To  p.  213 :  Interpretation  of  Article  3d  in  action  (1881) 
regarding  "  unemployed  Ministers  and  vacant  cliurclies." 

"  Inasmuch  as  the  action  referred  to  has  reference  to 
funds  contributed,  not  for  the  mission-work  of  the  whole 
Church,  but  for  the  work  within  the  bounds  of  the  Pres- 
bytery contributing  the  funds,  these  funds  are  to  be  re- 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  1883,  p.  631.  t  Ibid.,  1882,  p.  98. 

+  Ibid.,  1883,  p.  625. 


524  APPENDIX. 

turned  in  bulk  to  the  Presbytery  contributing  them,  to 
be  distributed  according  to  its  direction.  But  this  rule 
shall  apply  only  to  such  special  funds."  * 

To  p.  215 :  Name  of  suspended  Minister  to  remain  on 
roU. 

The  decision  of  the  O.  S.  Assembly  in  1847  was  af- 
firmed in  1882,  when  the  Assembly  answered  in  the 
negative  the  question,  "  Is  it  proper  to  remove  the  name 
of  a  suspended  member  of  the  Presbytery  from  its  roll 
and  place  it  on  a  private  register  ?"t 

To  pp.  31,  224 :  Organization  of  churches. 

"  Within  the  bounds  of  a  Presbytery  the  work  of  the 
Board  of  Home  Missions  should  be  carried  on  in  har- 
mony with  the  Presbytery,  according  to  the  principles 
and  rules  hereinafter  stated,  but  a  discretion  should  be 
allowed  to  the  Board  in  outlying  districts,  where  direct 
presbyterial  control  is  difficult  or  impracticable.  .  .  . 
But  in  all  questions  touching  the  organization  of  churches 
or  the  character  of  Ministers,  the  Board,  in  case  of  differ- 
ence between  itself  and  the  Presbytery,  should  abide  by 
the  final  decision  of  the  Presbytery.  .  .  .  No  church 
shall  be  organized  by  a  Missionary  (of  the  Board)  within 
the  bounds  of  any  Presbytery  unless  authority  has  been 
previously  obtained  from  the  Presbytery."  | 

To  p.  226 :  Statistical  reports. 

"  That  the  Stated  Clerks  of  the  Presbyteries  indicate, 
in  the  statistical  reports,  the  nationality  of  all  churches  in 
which  services  are  held  in  a  foreign  language,  by  adding 
to  or  inserting  in  the  name  of  a  given  church  the  cus- 
tomary national  name  of  the  persons  worshiping  there- 
in." § 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  1882,  p.  95      f  J^f>'<i;  P-  96. 

t  Ibid.,  1883,  pp.  643,  644.       ^  Ibid.,  1882,  p.  18. 


APPENDIX.  525 

"  That  the  statistics  of  the  General  Assembly,  as  found 
in  the  minutes  of  the  same,  be  stereotyped  for  the  use  of 
this  committee  (on  Benevolence),  the  statistics  of  each 
Presbytery  to  form  a  single  page.  That  we  accept  the 
proposal  of  a  member  of  this  committee  to  print  and 
circulate,  at  his  own  expense,  for  one  year,  copies  of  the 
statistics  of  each  Presbytery  as  stereotyped,  for  circula- 
tion in  each  family  of  every  church  where  the  Pastor  or 
Session  will  request  the  same.  .  .  .  These  statistics  will 
be  sent  to  every  Pastor  or  Session  gratis,  postage  paid."  * 

To  p.  226 :  Temperance  narratives. 

"  That  the  Presbyteries  prepare  a  distinct  temperance 
narrative  at  their  spring  meetings,  and  forward  the  same 
to  the  Permanent  Committee  (on  Temperance),  and  that 
this  committee  consider  and  report  on  the  same  to  the 
next  Assembly."  f 

To  p.  226  :  Tabulated  statement-blanks. 

The  blanks  for  tabulated  statements  of  facts,  ordered 
by  the  Assembly  in  1880,  were  discontinued  in  1883.  | 

To  p.  233 :  Consolidation  of  Synods. 

"  In  the  judgment  of  the  General  Assembly  the  act  of 
1881,  consolidating  certain  Synods,  aifects  only  their 
boundaries,  so  that  at  their  first  annual  meeting,  and  to 
the  close  thereof,  said  Synods  must  be  constituted  as  the 
Synods  have  uniformly  been  constituted  heretofore. 
Should  any  Synod  vote  to  become  a  delegated  body,  its 
decision  shall  be  submitted  to  its  Presbyteries,  and 
shall  take  effect  when  ratified  by  a  majority  thereof. 
This  result  shall  be  ascertained  at  a  subsequent  meeting 
of  the  Synod,  or,  if  the  Synod  so  provide,  the  result 
shall  be  certified  to  the  Moderator  and  Clerks  of  the 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  1883,  p.  642,  f  Ibid.,  p.  656. 

X  Ibid.,  p.  641. 


526  APPENDIX. 

Synod,  and  by  them  be  comnmnicated  to  tlie  several  Pres- 
byteries, as  a  basis  for  electing  delegates  to  the  ensuing 
or  second  meeting."  * 

To  pp.  235,  257  :  Synod  divided. 

The  Synod  of  Colorado  was  divided  into  the  Synod 
of  Colorado  and  the  Synod  of  Utah,  the  latter  to  consist 
of  the  Presbyteries  of  Utah,  Montana  and  Wood  River, 
and  "  from  the  Synod  of  Columbia  and  the  Presbytery  of 
Idaho  "  was  transferred  "  to  the  Synod  of  Utah  and  the 
Presbytery  of  Wood  River  so  much  of  the  Territory  of 
Idaho  as  lies  east  and  south  of  the  eastern  and  southern 
boundary  of  Idaho  county,  Idaho  Territory."  f 

To  p.  237 :  Synod's  place  of  meeting  changed. 

The  Synod  of  New  York  asked  "  the  Assembly  to  ac- 
knowledge and  authorize  the  regularity  of  a  meeting  of 
the  Synod  which  was  held  at  Peekskill  in  October,  1880, 
instead  of  Newburyport,  according  to  previous  adjourn- 
ment. Reasons  beyond  the  control  of  Synod  made  the 
change  necessary,  and  the  action  of  the  Synod  was  unan- 
imously approved  by  its  own  members."  The  action  of 
the  Synod  was  legalized.  J 

To  p.  237  :  Synod's  time  of  meeting  changed. 

At  the  request  of  two  Presbyteries,  the  General  As- 
sembly changed  the  time  of  meeting  of  the  Synod  of 
Ohio  "  to  avoid  conflict  with  the  time  designated  for  the 
State  election."  | 

To  p.  239  :  Complaint  stopped  at  Synod. 

"  The  Judicial  Committee  are  unable  to  find  from  the 
complaint  that  the  decision  of  the  Synod  affects  the  doc- 
trine or  the  constitution  of  the  Church,  nor  can  they  find  in 
the  statement  of  the  action  of  the  Synod  anything  which 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  18.s':l  p.  97,  f  Ibid.,  1883,  p.  G30. 

X  Ibid.,  1882,  p.  95. 


APPENDIX.  527 

M'as  not  within  their  discretion ;  and  therefore  no  case  is 
presented  which  the  Assembly  can  properly  entertain 
and  review."  * 

To  p.  242 :  Overtures  to  the  General  Assembly. 

"An  overture  coming  from  a  private  individual,  in- 
stead of  from  a  lower  Church  judicatory,  should  not  be 
regarded  as  properly  before  the  Assembly."  f  ("  All 
overtures  to  the  Assembly  must  come  from  Presbyteries 
or  Synods.")  |  "  The  General  Assembly  has  decided 
that  all  overtures  shall  come  to  it  through  Presby- 
teries or  Synods,  and  not  through  individuals  or  Ses- 
sions." § 

To  p.  243  :  Sjmodical  Home  Missionary  Committee. 

"  Each  Synod  shall  appoint  a  Home  Missionary  Com- 
mittee, to  consist  of  the  chairmen  of  the  presbyterial 
committees  within  its  bounds.  The  committee  shall 
meet  annually,  near  or  during  the  meeting  of  the  Synod. 
It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  committee  to  ascertain,  as 
nearly  as  possible,  the  whole  number  of  churches  and 
missionary-fields  needing  aid  within  the  bounds  of  the 
Synod,  and,  as  nearly  as  possible,  equalize  the  salaries 
of  Missionaries  in  the  Presbyteries.  They  shall  ascer- 
tain the  amount  it  will  be  fair  to  expect  for  the  work  of 
Home  Missionaries  from  the  churches  of  the  Synod,  and, 
as  nearly  as  possible,  determine  the  amount  of  aid  that 
will  be  likely  to  be  asked  for  the  support  of  missionary 
work  within  the  bounds  of  the  Synod.  The  committee 
shall  confer,  when  practicable,  with  representatives  of 
the  Board.  These  synod ical  committees  shall,  as  soon 
as  possible  after  the  meeting  of  the  Synod,  report  to  the 
Board    the    necessities    of  the    fields   and   the  probable 

*  ^Tinutes  G.  A.  1S83,  ^.  100.  f  Ibid.,  p.  57. 

X  Ibid.,  1876,  p.  78.  I  Ibid.,  1883,  p.  627. 


528  APPENDIX. 

amount  of  money  required,  together  with  the  prob- 
able contributions  from  the  Synods  to  the  Board. 
The  reports  of  the  synodical  committees  shall  be  sent 
every  year  to  the  Assembly,  and  be  referred  either  to  a 
special  committee  or  to  the  Standing  Committee  of  the 
Assembly  on  Home  Missions.  The  committee,  after 
consulting  the  wants  of  the  whole  field,  as  they  shall  be 
set  forth  in  the  reports  from  the  various  Synods,  shall 
make  their  report  to  the  Assembly,  with  such  recom- 
mendations as  the  exigencies  of  the  work  may  seem  in 
their  judgment  to  require."  The  Board  was  instructed 
to  conform  its  rules  to  this  regulation.* 

To  pp.  233,  244 :  Records  of  Synods  whicli  have  been 
consolidated. 

"  The  Stated  Clerks  of  the  several  Synods  now  con- 
solidated in  other  Synods  be  directed  to  deposit  the  rec- 
ords of  said  Synods  with  the  Stated  Clerks  of  the  Synods 
which  are  their  legal  successors."  f 

To  p.  253 :  Appeal  received  from  Presbytery. 

Rev.  W.  W.  McLane  appealed  from  a  decision  of  Pres- 
bytery directly  to  the  Assembly,  giving  his  i-easons  for  so 
doing.  The  Judicial  Committee  reported  that  the  reasons 
were  not  sufficient,  and  the  papers  be  referred  to  the  Synod. 
But  the  General  Assembly  required  the  same  committee  to 
prepare  and  issue  the  case  for  trial  before  the  Assembly.^ 

To  p.  254 :  Judicial  Commissions. 

"  Your  committee  further  report  that  they  have  had  un- 
der consideration  the  various  propositions  concerning  the 
establishment  of 'Judicial  Commissions,'  and  in  view  of 
the  great  importance  of  the  matter  and  the  shortness  of  ti  me 
for  its  consideration,  they  respectfully  recommend  that  the 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  1883,  p.  644.  f  Ibid.,  1883,  p.  94. 

X  Ibid.,  1883,  p.  597,  604,  617. 


APPENDIX.  529 

subject  be  referred  to  the  next  General  Assembly,  with  a 
request  that  the  propriety  of  establishing  such  commis- 
sions be  carefully  considered."     This  was  adopted.* 

To  p.  264 :  Saharanpur  Presbytery. 

The  Saharanpur  Presbytery  of  the  Reformed  Presby- 
terian Church  in  Northern  India  asked  the  General  As- 
sembly to  receive  and  place  it  under  the  care  of  the 
Synod  of  India,  the  Presbytery  having  dissolved  its  rela- 
tion with  the  Reformed  Church.  The  Assembly  referred 
the  matter,  with  power,  to  the  Synod  of  India.f 

To  p.  268  :  Delegates  to  the  Third  Council  of  the  Gen- 
eral Alliance. 

Twenty  Ministers  and  twenty  Ruling  Elders,  with 
their  alternates,  were  appointed  delegates  to  tiie  Third 
Council  of  the  General  Alliance  of  the  Reformed  churches, 
which  is  to  convene  at  Belfast,  Ireland,  June,  1884.  | 

To  p.  271 :  Presbyterian  Church  South. 

Telegraphic  salutations  were  interchanged  between  the 
two  Assemblies' from  1877.  In  1882  the  following  was 
received  from  the  Moderator  of  the  Assembly  of  the 
Southern  Presbyterian  Church  : 

'*  In  answer  to  overtures  from  Presbyteries  the  follow- 
ing paper  was  adopted  almost  unanimously  (three  nays): 

" '  In  order  to  remove  all  difficulties  in  the  way  of 
that  full  and  formal  fraternal  correspondence  which,  on 
our  part,  we  are  prepared  to  accept,  we  adopt  the  fol- 
lowing minute,  to  wit :  "  That,  while  receding  from  no 
principle,  we  do  hereby  declare  our  regret  for  and  with- 
drawal of  all  expressions  of  our  Assembly  which  may  be 
regarded  as  reflecting  upon  or  oifensive  to  the  General 
Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  the  United 
States  of  America." 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  1883,  p.  657.    f  Ibid.,  1882,  p.  98.     +  Ibid.,  1883,  p.  579. 
45  2  1 


530  APPENDIX. 

"  'Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  this  paper  be  sent  by  tele- 
graph to  the  General  Assembly  now  in  session  at  Spring- 
field, Illinois,  for  their  prayerful  consideration,  and, 
mutatis  mutandis,  for  their  reciprocal  concurrence,  as 
affording  a  basis  for  the  exchange  of  delegates  forth- 
with.' " 

Our  Assembly  telegraphed  in  reply  its  action  in  the 
same  words,  mutatis  mutandis,  prefacing  it  with  this  res- 
olution :  "  That  in  the  action  now  to  be  taken  we  dis- 
claim any  reference  to  the  action  of  preceding  Assem- 
blies concerning  loyalty  and  rebellion,  but  we  refer 
only  to  the  action  concerning  schism,  heresy  and  blas- 
phemy." 

The  Southern  Assembly  replied,  "  If  the  action  of  the 
Assembly,  telegraplied  by  your  Moderator  to  our  Mod- 
erator, does  not  modify  the  concurrent  resolution  adopted 
by  your  Assembly  and  ours,  we  are  prepared  to  send 
delegates  forthwith." 

The  Moderator  was  instructed  to  answer :  "  The  action 
referred  to  does  not  modify,  but  it  explains,  the  concur- 
rent resolution,  and  the  explanation  is  on  the  face  of  the 
action.  There  is  nothing  behind  it  nor  between  the 
lines.  The  dissolution  of  our  Assembly  is  at  hand.  We 
may  be  ready  for  final  adjournment  this  evening.  Ex- 
change of  delegates  is  impossible  before  Tuesday.  Shall 
we  not  each  appoint  delegates  this  day  to  visit  the  re- 
spective Assemblies  next  year  ?  We  await  your  answer 
with  deep  and  prayerful  interest." 

The  Southern  Assembly  replied  : 

"  It  was  unanimously  resolved — 

"  1.  That  this  Assembly  does  hereby  declare  its  entire 
satisfaction  with  the  full  and  explicit  terms  in  which  the 
General  Assembly  in  the  United  States  of  America  has 


APPENDIX.  531 

expressed  its  reciprocal  concurrence  in  the  paper  trans- 
mitted to  our  Assembly  on  fraternal  correspondence. 

"  2.  That  we  do  nnfeignedly  rejoice  and  render  thanks- 
giving to  God  in  an  event  suited  to  take  away  the  re- 
proach of  alienation  between  bodies  holding  the  same 
standards  of  faith  and  order,  and  tending  to  bring  peace 
to  our  borders. 

"  3.  That  inasmuch  as  it  is  impracticable  at  this  late 
day  to  have  an  interchauge  of  delegates,  the  Assembly 
does  hereby  appoint  Rev.  William  Brown,  D,  D.,  Rev. 
Thomas  A.  Hoyt,  D.  D.,  Hon.  B.  M.  Estes,  principals, 
and alternates,  to  bear  to  the  next  General  Assem- 
bly of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States  of 
America  our  cordial  Christian  salutations." 

Rev.  Samuel  J.  Niccolls,  D.  D.,  Rev.  Thomas  S.  Has- 
tings, D.  D.,  Rev.  Herrick  Johnson,  D.  D.,  Rev.  S.  Ire- 
nseus  Prime,  D.  D.,  Rev.  Edward  P.  Humphrey,  D.  D., 
and  Hon.  William  Strong  and  Hon.  Samuel  M.  Moore, 
with  alternates,  were  appointed  delegates  to  the  South- 
ern Assembly.* 

The  delegates  appeared,  and  were  heartily  welcomed 
at  the  Assemblies  in  ISSS.f 

In  1882,  the  Assembly  recommended  "that  the  utmost 
care  be  exercised  "  by  the  Board  of  Home  Missions  "  to 
avoid  all  conflict  or  attrition  with  the  churches  of  our 
sister  body  in  the  Southern  States,  and  that  the  work 
there  be  conducted  in  the  spirit  of  the  Christian  union 
toward  which  we  believe  we  are  moving.  We  express 
our  readiness  also  to  co-operate  with  our  Southern  breth- 
ren on  any  fields  and  in  any  way  that  may  help  the  prog- 
ress of  the  cause  so  dear  to  us  both."  J 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  1882,  pp.  50,  66,  83,  102,  ]  03. 

t  Ibid.,  1883,  pp.  576,  596.  %  Ibid.,  1882,  p.  38. 


532  APPENDIX. 

Ill  1883  the  following  resolution  was  adopted : 

"  Whereas,  Fraternal  relations  between  the  two  great 
branches  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United 
States  have  been  happily  established,  and  for  the  pur- 
pose now  of  securing,  as  far  as  may  be  possible,  the  cor- 
dial co-operation  of  these  two  great  Christian  bodies  in 
all  works  and  measures  in  which  they  have  a  common 
interest  for  building  up  the  Redeemer's  kingdom ;  there- 
fore be  it 

"Mesolved,  That  a  committee  of  seven  be  appointed  by 
this  General  Assembly  to  confer  with  a  similar  commit- 
tee, if  it  shall  be  appointed  by  the  General  Assembly  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States,  now  in 
session  in  Lexington,  Kentucky,  in  regard  to  any  plans 
or  methods  of  co-operation  in  any  part  of  the  great  work 
that  the  Master  has  laid  upon  his  servants,  and  which  it 
might  appear  would  be  more  effectively  accomplished  by 
cordial  and  friendly  co-operation  than  by  separate  and 
independent  action ;  and  that  these  committees  report 
the  result  of  their  deliberations  to  their  respective  As- 
semblies of  1884."  * 

To  p.  276 :  Revision  of  Book  of  Discipline. 

In  1882  it  was  "Besolved,  That  the  consideration  of 
the  report  of  the  Committee  on  the  Revision  of  the 
Form  of  Government  and  Book  of  Discipline  be  post- 
poned until  the  next  Assembly,  and  that  the  printed 
report  be  sent  down  to  the  Presbyteries  for  their  consid- 
eration and  examination,  and  that  the  Stated  Clerk  be 
instructed  to  send  a  copy  to  every  Minister  and  church 
Session."  f 

In  1883  the  report  was  carefully  examined,  and,  "as 
amended  and  harmonized,  was  then  unanimously  adopt- 
*  Minutea  G.  A.  1SS3,  p.  591.  f  I^id.,  18S2,  p.  52. 


APPENDIX.  533 

ed,  and  the  Revised  Book  of  Discipline,  with  the  re- 
vision of  chapter  x.  of  the  Directory  for  Worship,  was 
ordered  to  be  sent  down  to  the  Presbyteries  by  the  Stated 
Clerk  for  their  consideration  as  an  overture."  And  it 
was  ^'Resolved,  That  the  j)roposed  revision  of  the  Book 
of  Discipline  and  of  chapter  x.  of  the  Directory  for 
Worship  be  overtured  to  the  Presbyteries  for  their 
adoption  as  a  part  of  the  constitution  of  the  Church  in 
place  of  the  existing  Book  of  Discipline  and  the  existing 
chapter  x.  of  the  Directory  for  Worship ;  and  that  the 
Presbyteries  be  directed  to  vote  aye  or  710  upon  the  pro- 
posed substitution  as  a  whole ;  with  the  proviso,  that  any 
Presbytery,  voting  in  the  affirmative,  may  have  the 
privilege  of  excepting  from  the  revision  any  section  or 
sections  from  which  it  may  dissent,  and  may  by  overture 
recommend  a  further  revision  of  the  same ;  and  that  the 
Stated  Clerks  of  Presbyteries  be  required  to  transmit  the 
results  of  their  action  to  the  Stated  Clerk  of  the  General 
Assembly,  on  or  before  the  first  day  of  the  meeting  of 
the  next  Assembly."  * 

To  p.  276  :  Assembly  HaU. 

A  committee  of  three  was  appointed  "  to  consider  the 
question  of  a  permanent  place  and  of  an  Assembly  Hall 
for  the  annual  meetings  of  the  General  Assembly,"  and 
to  report  to  the  next  Assembly.f 

To  pp.  56,  283 :  Electors  of  Ruling  Elders. 

The  Assembly  was  asked  for  a  definition  of  the  word 
"  congregation  "  in  the  chapter  prescribing  the  manner 
of  electing  Ruling  Elders,  and  answered  :  "  The  term 
'  congregation  '  includes  only  the  actual  communicants 
of  the  particular  church  {Digest,  p.  342)."  | 

*  Minvies  G.  A.  1883,  pj).  657,  658-673,  685. 

t  Ibid.,  p.  672.  X  Ibid.,  1882,  p.  97. 

J5* 


534  APPENDIX. 

To  p.  297  :  Term-Elder. 

"  When  from  necessity  there  can  be  but  one  Elder  for 
the  time  being,  he  may  be  elected  for  three  years,  as 
provided  in  chapter  xiii.,  section  viii.,  and  re-elected  at 
the  end  of  that  term  ;  and  the  division  into  classes  as 
provided  in  that  section  should  take  place  as  the  Session 
can  be  increased  in  number."  * 

To  p.  298  :  Reinstallation  of  term-Elders. 

"  It  was  the  evident  intention  of  the  last  Assembly  to 
recommend  the  reinstallation  of  Elders,  when  re-elected ; 
and,  to  make  its  intention  more  definite,  the  Assembly 
hereby  strikes  out  of  the  previous  action  the  phrase  '  or 
in  some  way  equivalent  thereto.'  "f 

Top.  310:  Scholarships. 

"  It  is  exceedingly  desirable  that  the  appropriations  of 
the  Board  and  the  scholarshijjs  of  the  seminaries  and 
colleges  should  be  the  same  in  amount  and  rules  of  ap- 
propriation, and  that  the  Church  should  aim  to  secure, 
as  soon  as  possible,  a  suificient  number  of  endowed 
scholarships  to  supply  the  needs  of  the  candidates.  In 
order  to  do  this,  we  would  recommend  that  the  Board  of 
Education  invest  the  permanent  funds  in  its  charge, 
amounting  to  $43,950,  in  scholarships  yielding  each  $200 
a  year,  with  the  design  of  increasing  them  to  $250  as 
soon  as  practicable ;  these  scholarships  to  be  given  to 
students  whose  grade  of  scholarship  is  high,  and  who  do 
not  receive  aid  from  any  other  source. 

"  It  is  also  recommended  that  the  sums  received  from 
time  to  time,  refunding  the  amounts  given  in  aid  in 
former  years,  and  also  the  larger  bequests  to  the  Board 
of  Education,  be  set  aside  by  the  Board  for  the  increase 
oT  the  permanent  scholarships,  as  above  described. 
*  Minules  G.  A.  1883,  p.  626.  f  Ibid.,  1882,  p.  98. 


APPENDIX.  535 

"  It  is  also  recommended  that  the  whole  Church  be 
called  upon  to  raise,  by  gifts  of  individuals,  churches  or 
Presbyteries,  permanent  scholarships  of  $5000  each  in 
connection  with  the  Board  of  Education,  the  various 
theological  seminaries  or  Presbyterian  colleges,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  preference  of  the  donors."  * 

But  the  next  year  it  was  ^^ Resolved,  That  the  General 
Assembly  approves  the  reasons  of  the  Board  for  omit- 
ting to  divide  the  Permanent  Fund  into  distinct  schol- 
arships, yielding  larger  amounts,  to  be  given  to  students 
whose  grade  of  scholarship  is  high."  f 

To  p.  313  :  Princeton  Theological  Seminary. 

"The  Board  of  Directors  solicits  the  sanction  of  the 
General  Assembly  to  two  changes  in  the  '  Plan  of  the 
Seminary,'  viz.:  The  omission  from  article  ii.,  section 
iii.,  of  the  words  '  and  the  President,  or,  in  case  of  his 
absence,  one  of  the  Vice-Presidents,  be  one.'  Also  in 
article  ii.,  section  v.,  the  change  of  the  word  '  twenty ' 
to  '  ten.'  The  effect  of  the  former  change  would  be  to 
enable  the  Board  more  easily  to  secure  a  quorum ;  that 
of  the  latter,  to  require  one-half  the  length  of  notice  for 
a  special  meeting."     This  was  granted.  % 

To  p.  313 :  Danville  Theological  Seminary. 

Certain  Ministers  and  members  of  the  Southern  Pres- 
byterian Church  residing  in  Kentucky  memorialized  the 
Assembly  "  to  transfer  the  property  and  endowments  of 
the  Danville  Theological  Seminary,  with  the  exclusive 
control  of  that  institution,  in  perpetuity  or  for  a  term 
of  years,  to  the  Church  of  which  they  are  members." 
Overtures  from  two  of  the  three  Presbyteries  of  the 
Synod   of    Kentucky  protested   against   such   transfer. 

*  Minutes  O.  A.  1882,  p.  63.  f  I^id.,  1883,  p.  622. 

X  Ibid.,  1882,  p.  87. 


536  APPENDIX. 

The  Assembly  "Resolved,  That,  sliould  a  committee  be 
appointed  by  the  Southern  Assembly  at  Lexington,  Ky., 
to  confer  vvith  the  committee  already  appointed  by  this 
body  in  regard  to  co-operative  work  by  the  two  branches 
of  the  Church,  the  question  of  tlie  joint  occupancy  of  the 
Danville  Seminary  sliould  be  made  a  matter  of  consid- 
eration by  the  committees  in  conference."  * 

To  p.  314 :  Seminary  of  the  North-west. 

A  new  section  was  added  to  article  ii.  of  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  seminary,  as  follows:  Section  ii,,  "In  jusi 
recognition  of  his  relations  of  beneficence  to  this  sem- 
inary, Cyrus  H.  McCormick  is  hereby  constituted,  from 
this  time  forth,  a  special  member  of  the  Board  of  Direc- 
tors, to  qualify  as,  and  to  be  entitled  to  all  the  preroga- 
tives of,  other  full  members  of  the  Board,  and  to  con- 
tinue in  the  office  during  the  term  of  his  natural  life  or 
until  he  shall  resign."  f 

To  p.  316 :  Instruction  in  seminaries. 

"  That  in  view  of  the  activity  of  the  adherents  of  In- 
dependency and  Prelacy  in  the  dissemination  of  their 
views  of  the  Church  and  its  polity,  and  in  view  of  the 
grave  constitutional  and  administrative  questions  in  our 
Church  needing  intelligent  discussion  and  settlement,  the 
Assembly  advises  the  seminaries  under  its  care  to  give 
more  attention  to  thorough  and  systematic  instruc- 
tion on  the  constitution  and  polity  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church. 

"  That  in  view  of  the  necessity  for  combining  the 
most  thorough  instruction  with  the  best  training,  we  sug- 
gest to  the  seminaries  the  propriety  of  co-operating  with 
Presbyteries  in  having  the  months  of  the  seminary  ses- 
sion assiduously  devoted  to  study,  and  the  months  of 
*  Minutes  O.  A.  1883,  pp.  683-685.  f  Ibid.,  1882,  p.  89. 


APPENDIX.  537 

vacation  devoted  to  Christian  work,  under  the  special 
supervision  of  Pastors  and  Presbyteries. 

"  That  in  view  of  the  importance  of  a  thorough  com- 
mand of  the  Bible  in  the  original  tongues,  we  urge  that 
greater  stress  be  laid  in  our  seminaries  upon  a  thorough 
acquaintance  with  the  Bible  in  the  original  Hebrew  and 
Greek,  and  that  a  creditable  examination  in  the  Greek 
of  the  New  Testament  be  required  of  every  graduate  of 
a  college  as  a  condition  to  being  received  into  our  theo- 
logical seminaries."  * 

To  p.  316  :  Higher  criticism. 

"  That  in  view  of  the  crude  and  dangerous  utterances 
of  many  of  the  secular  and  religious  papers,  periodicals 
and  books,  and  of  some  of  the  pulpits  of  the  land,  re- 
sulting from  the  introduction  and  prevalence  of  German 
mysticism  and  '  higher  criticism,'  and  of  philosophic 
speculation  and  so-called  scientific  evolution  ;  in  view  of 
the  alarming  defection  from  the  faith  of  the  gospel  both 
in  this  country  and  abroad,  and  which  seriously  threat- 
ens our  own  beloved  Church ;  and  in  view  of  the  fact 
that  the  revealed  word  of  God,  the  Holy  Scripture,  is 
the  only  infallible  rule  of  faith  and  practice,  and  there- 
fore the  only  hope  of  mankind, — your  committee  recom- 
mend that  this  Assembly,  in  the  name  of  the  Great  Head 
of  the  Church,  solemnly  warn  all  who  give  instruction 
in  our  theological  seminaries  against  inculcating  any 
views  or  adopting  any  methods  which  may  tend  to  un- 
settle faith  in  the  doctrine  of  the  divine  origin  and  plen- 
ary inspiration  of  the  Scriptures  held  by  our  Church  or 
in  our  Presbyterian  systems  of  doctrine,  either  by  ignor- 
ing or  depreciating  the  supernatural  element  in  divine 
revelation,  or  by  exalting  human  conjecture  and  specula- 
*  3Iinuies  G.  A.  1882,  p.  91 ;  1883,  p.  682. 


538  APPENDIX. 

tion  above  historical  and  divine  facts  and  truths,  or  by 
applying  hypotheses  of  evolution,  unverified  and  incapa- 
ble of  verification,  to  the  word  of  the  living  God."  This 
was  adopted.* 

"The  General  Assembly  feels  constrained  to  express 
itself  clearly  and  decidedly  on  the  rationalistic  treatment 
of  the  Holy  Scriptures  by  Protestant  teachers  in  Europe, 
whose  works  are  introduced  into  our  country,  and  whose 
evil  influence  is  felt  in  our  Church.  Our  Confession  of 
Faith  (chapter  i.,  section  ii.),  after  giving  the  names  of 
the  books  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  adds, 'all 
which  are  given  by  inspiration  of  God  to  be  the  rule  of 
faith  and  life.'  The  denial  of  the  authenticity  or  truth- 
fulness of  the  Holy  Scriptures  is  a  denial  of  their  inspi- 
ration ;  and  any  teaching  that  suggests  such  denial  should 
be  not  only  carefully  avoided,  but  studiously  repelled. 
The  Assembly  would  not  discourage  the  full  use  of  all 
light  in  critical  study,  nor  does  it  assume  that  any  erro- 
neous teaching  is  welcomed  or  offered  within  the  bounds 
of  the  Church  ;  but  it  would  warn  all  Pastors  and  teach- 
ers of  the  danger  to  young  and  inexperienced  minds  in 
the  free  use  of  crude  theories  and  unproved  speculations 
on  the  part  of  religious  instructors,  and  would  remind 
them  of  the  paramount  importance  of  sustaining  in  pos- 
itive doctrine  the  authenticity,  integrity,  truthfulness 
and  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  against  the  un- 
sanctified  learning  by  which  an  unbelieving  world, 
through  nominally  Christian  channels,  assaults  the 
Church  of  God. 

"  The  Assembly  would  also  remind  the  Presbyteries 
of  their  special  responsibility  as  guardians  of  the  faith, 
and  that  in  view  of  the  apprehensions  excited  through- 
*  Minuter  G.  A.  1882,  p.  92. 


APPENDIX.  539 

out  the  Church  by  the  rationalistic  handling  of  the  word 
of  God,  it  is  incumbent  upon  them  to  see  to  it  that  the 
appropriate  constitutional  action  be  taken,  if  at  any  time 
it  should  become  manifest  that  any  Minister  of  our 
Church  was  promulgating  theories  of  dangerous  tend- 
ency or  contra-confessional  doctrine  concerning  the  Holy 
Scripture."  * 

To  p.  397  :  Board  of  Home  Missions  and  applications. 

"The  Board  should  not,  in  ordinary  cases,  decline  to 
grant  an  appropriation  recommended  by  a  Presbytery, 
unless  in  its  judgment,  after  viewing  the  whole  field  to 
be  supplied,  it  shall  appear  that  the  funds  at  its  disposal 
are  all  needed  for  more  deserving  or  more  promising 
work  ;  and  whether  it  does  thus  appear  must  be  deter- 
mined by  the  Board."     (See  page  524.)  f 

To  p.  398  :  Board  of  Home  Missions  and  Presbyteries. 

The  committee  instructed  to  report  in  1882  did  so, 
presenting  majority  and  minority  reports.  These  were 
considered,  and  referred  back  to  the  committee  to  report 
the  next  year.  Their  report  was  adopted,  the  substance 
of  which  is  given  on  this  page  and  on  page  524. | 

To  pp.  243,  398  :  Synodical  Missionaries. 

In  1881  the  Assembly  approved  of  the  action  of  the 
Board  of  Home  Missions  employing  superintendents  of 
missions,  especially  on  the  frontier,  in  co-operation  with 
Synods  and  Presbyteries  ■within  their  bounds.  They 
were  called  supervisory  Missionaries,  and  later  synodical 
Missionaries.§  "  Synodical  Missionaries  should  hold  to 
the  Board  the  same  relation  as  other  Missionaries  whose 
support  is  provided,  in  whole  or  in  part,  by  the  Board, 

*  3finules  G.  A.  1883,  p.  631.  f  Ibid.,  p.  644. 

X  Ibid.,  1882,  pp.  35,  51 ;  1883,  pp.  643,  644. 
I  Ibid.,  1881,  p.  534. 


540  APPENDIX. 

and  tlieir  work  shall  be  conducted  in  harmony  with  the 
interests  of  the  Synod  and  of  the  Board."  * 

To  p.  422 :  Missionary  Department  of  Board  of  Publi- 
cation. 

The  special  committee  appointed  in  1881  reported  the 
next  year,  and  their  report  was  adopted ;  which  was,  in 
brief — 

1.  That  the  Board  maintain  "  a  separation,  as  complete 
as  practicable,  between  the  publishing  and  the  colportage 
departments  in  their  business  affairs,  so  that  the  relation 
between  the  two,  in  this  respect,  shall  be  the  same  as  be- 
tween the  publishing  department  and  any  other  pur- 
chaser." 

2.  That  the  publishing  department  "  be  not  required 
to  assume,  in  whole  or  in  part,  the  support  of  any  office 
or  agency  which  it  does  not  feel  justified  in  assuming 
because  of  its  commercial  value." 

3.  That  the  annual  report  shall  be  "  in  such  a  manner 
that  it  shall  be  made  to  appear  (1)  whether  any  reduc- 
tion in  the  price  of  its  publications  is  practicable,  and 
(2)  what  sum  this  department  (of  Publication)  may  yield, 
year  by  year,  for  Sabbath- school  work  and  colportage  or 
other  missionary  purposes." 

4.  That  colporteurs  shall  be  selected  and  supervised 
by  the  Corresponding  Secretary  and  a  committee  of  the 
Board.  No  colporteur  shall  be  sent  to  any  Presbytery 
without  its  consent. 

5.  That  the  office  of  superintendent  of  missionary- 
work  be  abolished.  "  District  superintendents,  also,  are  not 
to  be  maintained  by  the  Board,  except  where  it  judges  that 
they  are  called  for  on  business  grounds,  in  which  cases 
they  are  to  be  sustained  by  the  publishing  department." 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  1883,  p.  644. 


APPENDIX.  541 

6.  That  the  Missionary  department  be  sustained  by 
contributions  from  the  churches,  and  from  these  funds 
shall  be  provided  the  salary  of  the  secretary  of  the  Sab- 
bath-school work,  part  of  that  of  the  Corresponding 
Secretary,  salaries  of  colporteurs,  grants,  etc. 

7.  That  the  work  of  the  colporteur  be  chiefly  re- 
ligious visitation  and  Sabbath-school  work  among  the 
destitute^  and  the  selling  of  books  be  subordinate. 

8.  That  correspondence  through  the  missionary  de- 
partment be  invited  with  Pastors  and  Missionaries,  to 
secure  a  wider  diffusion  of  literature.* 

The  General  Assembly  in  1883  approved  of  "  the 
proposed  organization  of  the  Board,  through  its  secre- 
tary, of  the  Bible  Correspondence  School,  in  the  interest 
of  the  better  training  of  teachers."  f 

The  second  Sabbath  of  June  was  designated  as  Chil- 
dren's Day,  "  on  which  special  services  for  the  children 
shall  be  held,  and  the  vital  topics  of  the  Christian  nur- 
ture and  the  conversion  of  the  young  shall  be  pressed 
upon  the  thought  of  the  entire  congregation."  f 

To  p.  421  :  Depositories  of  Board  of  Publication. 

In  1882  the  Assembly  directed  that  depositories  be 
established  at  Chicago  and  St.  Louis.  This  was  done, 
and  arrangements  for  the  sale  of  the  Board's  books  were 
made  with  booksellers  in  New  York,  Syracuse,  Detroit, 
Cleveland,  Indianapolis,  Pittsburgh  and  Cincinnati.| 

To  p.  423 :  Colporteurs  of  Board  of  Publication. 

General  Assembly  approved  of  "the  use  of  the  terra 
colporteur  for  that  of  Missionary .''' % 

To  p.  444 :  Board  of  Church  Erection. 

"  That  the  Assembly  give  to  the  Board  authority  to 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  1882,  pp.  73-80.     f  Ihid.,  1883,  p.  616. 
%  Ihid.,  1882,  p.  48 ;  1883,  p.  613.     §  Ibid.,  1882,  p.  48. 
46 


542  APPENDIX. 

petition  the  legislature  to  abbreviate  its  corporate  name, 
which  is  considered  unnecessarily  long,  and  which,  from 
mistakes  liable  in  recording  it,  endangers  the  Board's 
legal  claim  to  legacies  intended  for  it;  that  similar  au- 
thority be  given  to  the  Board  to  petition  the  legislature 
to  be  allowed  to  increase  its  Permanent  Fund  from 
$150,000  to  $250,000.* 

"  While  we  would  not  deny  the  Christian  liberty  of 
churches  and  individuals  in  the  distribution  of  their  do- 
nations, we  must  disapprove  and  discourage  the  too  fre- 
quent practice  of  diverting  from  the  general  treasury  to 
special  objects  the  annual  contributions  of  churches  for 
the  Board,  particularly  when  the  Board  has  made  liberal 
grants  to  the  same  objects."  f 

To  pp.  451,  469  :  Ministerial  support. 

The  resolution  presented  in  1881  was  considered  the 
next  year,  and  referred  to  a  committee  of  five  Elders  to 
report  in  1883,  when  the  Assembly  placed  all  the  papers 
in  the  hands  of  two  Ministers  and  three  Elders,  (1)  "to 
devise  some  plan  ...  to  secure  a  sum  by  which,  under 
the  approval  of  his  Presbytery,  at  least  $300  shall  be 
given  to  each  Minister  who  is  either  disabled  from  preach- 
ing or  honorably  retired ;"  (2)  "  to  devise  some  plan  by 
which  a  widows'  and  orphans'  fund  shall  be  created 
from  which  to  secure  some  support  to  the  families  of 
deceased  Ministers."  (3)  In  the  mean  time,  the  churches 
are  urged  to  contribute  more  liberally  to  the  Board  of 
Ministerial  Relief.^ 

To  p.  451 :  Home  for  disabled  Ministers. 

Dr.  Alexander  M.  Bruen  donated  to  the  Board  of  Min- 
isterial Relief  the  mansion  and  grounds  of  the  Bruen  es- 

*  Minutes  O.  A.  1882,  p.  81.  f  Ibid.,  1883,  p.  634. 

X  Ibid.,  1882,  p.  83 ;  1883,  pp.  575,  619,  635. 


APPENDIX.  543 

tate  at  Perth  Amboy,  N.  J.,  "  as  a  home  for  disabled 
Ministers  and  the  widows  and  orphans  of  deceased 
Ministers  of  the  Presbyterian  Church."  * 

To  p.  461 :  Committee  of  Missions  for  Freedmen. 

"  The  committee  are  liereby  authorized  to  apply  to  the 
proper  civil  authorities  in  Pennsylvania  for  a  charter 
under  a  corporate  name  to  be  suggested  by  the  commit- 
tee." Acting  under  this  resolution,  the  committee  has 
been  incorporated  under  the  name  of  "  The  Presbyterian 
Board  of  Missions  for  Freedmen  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  the  United  States  of  America."  f 

To  p.  411 :  The  Board  of  Aid  for  Colleges  and  Academies. 

The  special  committee  on  the  functions  of  the  Board 
of  Education,  which  had  been  continued  since  1877,  re- 
ported again  in  1882.  The  committee  was  continued 
and  enlarged,  and  three  overtures  were  submitted  to  it 
asking  for  the  establishment  of  schools  and  colleges 
under  the  care  of  the  Church. | 

The  next  year  the  committee  presented  a  full  report, 
stating  the  history  of  the  movement,  the  importance  and 
need  of  establishing  and  aiding  schools  and  colleges  un- 
der the  supervision  of  the  Church,  and  proposed  definite 
action  in  the  matter,  which  was  adopted  by  the  Assem- 
bly, viz.: 

"1.  That  a  definite  agency  be  instituted  that  shall 
have  in  charge  the  interests  of  higher  education  as  con- 
nected with  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

"  2.  That  this  agency  be  a  separate  and  independent 
Board,  with  its  distinct  officers  and  work. 

"  3.  That  the  Board  be  constituted  under  the  follow- 
ing provisions,  viz.: 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  1883,  p.  580.       f  I^id.,  1882,  p.  32 ;  1883,  p.  592. 
X  Ibid.,  1882,  pp.  40,  58,  92. 


544  APPENDIX. 

A.  The  name  of  this  Board  shall  be  ^Tlie  Presbyte- 

rian Board  of  Aid  for  Colleges  and  Academies/ 
and  the  general  work  shall  have  the  limitations 
indicated  by  its  title. 

B.  The  Board  shall  consist  of  twenty-four  members, 

divided  into  three  classes,  composed  equally  of 
Ministers  and  laymen,  and  one  class  shall  be 
elected  each  year. 

C.  The  officers  of  this  Board  shall  be   a   president, 

vice-president,   treasurer   and    permanent   secre- 
tary. 
B.  In  the  constitution   of  this  Board  the  different 
parts   of  the  country  shall  be  equitably  repre- 
sented. 

E.  The  head-quarters  of  the  Board  shall  be  at  Chica- 

go, and  the  executive  committee  of  the  Board 
shall  be  residents  in  Chicago  or  in  the  immedi- 
ate vicinity. 

F.  Meetings   of  the   Board    may   be   held  at  differ- 

ent points  in  the  country  as  the  Board  shall 
elect. 

G.  The  province  of  the  Board  shall  be  to  secure  an 

annual  offering  from  the  churches  for  this  cause ; 
to  co-operate  with  local  agencies  in  determining 
sites  for  new  institutions ;  to  decide  what  institu- 
tions shall  be  aided;  to  assign  to  those  institu- 
tions seeking  endowment  the  special  fields  open 
to  their  appeals,  that  clashing  between  them  may 
be  avoided ;  and  to  discourage  all  independent 
appeals  to  the  Church  at  large. 
H.  The  funds  received  by  the  Board  shall  be  devoted 
either  to  current  expenses  of  struggling  institu- 
tions or  to  permanent  endowments. 


APPENDIX.  545 

I.  (a)  Every  institution  hereafter  established,  as  a  con- 
dition of  receiving  aid,  shall  be  organically  con- 
nected with  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United 
States  of  America,  or  shall  by  charter  provision 
perpetually  have  two-thirds  of  its  board  of  con- 
trol members  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 
(6)  In   case   of  institutions   already   established,  and 
not  included  under  the  above  provisions,  appro- 
priations for  endowment  shall  be  so  made  as  to 
revert  to  the  Board  whenever  these  institutions 
shall  pass  from  Presbyterian  control, 
(c)  In  all  other  respects    the   disbursement  of  funds 
by  the  Board  shall  be  wholly  discretionary  with 
the  Board,  both  as  to  amount  and  direction,  sub- 
ject always  to  the  control  of  the  General  Assem- 
bly. 
"  4.  That  the  Board  be  chartered  under  the  laws  of 
the  State  of  Illinois  and  under  the  laws  of  such  other 
States  as  may  at  any  time  hereafter,  by  said  Board,  be 
deemed  necessary  or  advisable,  and  be  empowered  to  re- 
ceive legacies,  bequests  and  devises. 

"  5.  That  a  committee  be  now  a])pointed  to  report  to 
this  Assembly  the  names  of  twenty-four  members  for 
this  Board,  and  any  needed  directions  for  organization ; 
and  that  when  so  reported  and  approved  by  this  Assem- 
bly said  members  shall  be  authorized  and  enjoined  to 
perfect  the  organization  of  the  Board  at  the  earliest  pos- 
sible date,  and  to  proceed  at  once  to  its  vast  and  respon- 
sible work."  This  was  done.* 
To  p.  469 :  Sustentation. 

The  committee  of  fifteen,  appointed  in  1881  on  the 
relations  of  the  Presbyteries  and  Board  of  Home  Mis- 

*  Minutes  G.  A.  1883,  pp.  581-590,  645. 
46*  2  K 


546  APPENDIX. 

sions,  reported  in  1883  that  action  on  their  part  con- 
cerning sustentation  was  unnecessary,  as  "it  is  under- 
stood that  the  Board  of  Home  Missions  and  some  of  the 
newly-organized  Synods  are  endeavoring  to  determine 
a  plan  of  sustentation."  It  was  ''Resolved,  That  this 
Assembly  commend  to  the  favorable  consideration  of 
the  older  Synods  the  suggestions  of  the  Board  of  Home 
Missions  in  regard  to  sustentation  ;"  which  were :  "  The 
Board  is  of  the  opinion  that  this  scheme  could  be  made 
to  meet  all  the  expectations  of  its  most  sanguine  friends 
if  the  Eastern  Synods  should  see  fit  to  adopt  it  for  sup- 
plying their  waning  churches.  ...  It  would  be  well 
for  the  large  and  wealthy  Synods  of  New  York,  New 
Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  and  perhaps  Michigan,  In- 
diana and  Illinois,  to  undertake  the  support  of  their 
own  weak  cliurclies  by  special  contributions  called  sus- 
tentation contributions.  The  money,  as  now,  might  be 
sent  to  the  Treasurer  of  the  Board,  .  .  .  but  the  Synods 
should  dispose  of  it  according  to  their  own  judgment, 
drawing  out  all  they  deposit.  Without  indicating  how 
the  details  should  be  arranged,  the  Board  is  satisfied 
that  the  suggestion  is  worthy  of  the  careful  considera- 
tion of  the  Synods."  * 

To  p.  472 :  Temperance. 

The  Assembly  recommended  the  committee  to  the 
churches  for  contributions  for  the  necessary  expenses 
of  the  work.f 

The  Assembly  declared  it  to  be  inexpedient  to  add  to 
the  subject  of  temperance  that  of  the  observance  of  the 
Sabbath,  to  be  under  the  charge  of  this  committee.| 

*  Minutes  O.  A.  1883,  pp.  644,  603,  753. 
t  Ibid.,  1882,  p.  106;  1883,  p.  656. 
I  Ibkl,  1883,  p.  656. 


APPENDIX.  547 

To  p.  502 :  Stated  Clerks. 

"  It  is  the  judgment  of  the  Assembly  that  it  is  with- 
in the  province  of  the  Stated  Clerk  to  correct  obvious 
errors  and  to  supply  evident  omissions  in  the  statistical 
reports  sent  up  by  the  Presbyteries ;  it  being  understood, 
however,  that  changes  shall  be  made  only  upon  explicit 
official  information."  * 

*  Mi7Mies  O.  A.  1882,  p.  96. 


INDE 


Abolition  of  Slavery,  451-454, 457- 

459. 
Absence : 

of  accused.  132,  155. 

of  appellant.  191. 

leave  of,  49t5,  50S. 

of  records,  ISS,  240. 
Absentees : 

censured.  155. 

from    church    courts,    1(52,    179. 
210,240,501. 

from  church  services,  2S4. 

from  communion.  151. 

for  long:  time,  142,  149,  284. 

recorded,  244. 

residence  unknown,  149,  284. 

rights  of.  150,  284. 

willful,  14S. 
Abstinence,  total,  470. 
Accused,  132,  155,  215. 

absence  of,  132,  155. 

cited.  111,  131. 

counsel  of,  132,  217. 

rights  of.  134,  135. 
Accuser,  21(),  49ti,  497. 

of  a  communicant,  131,  134. 

of  a  Minister,  215. 
Acting  Ruling  Elder,  58,  178,  294. 
Adjourned  meetings: 

of  General  Assembly,  276,  509. 

of  Presbytery,  179,  228,  609. 

of  Synod,  236,  509. 
Adjournment: 

of  General  Assembly,  280,  497. 

of  Presbytery.  230,  497. 

of  Session,  170. 

of  S.vnod,  243,  497. 
Administration    of  sacraments,  83- 

93. 
Admission  : 

to  church,  85,  135-141. 

to  communion,  90,  137,  110. 

to  Presbytery,  204. 


Admonition,  119,  155. 

to  accuser.  216. 

to  court.  129,  188,  219,  496. 
Adopting  act,  17. 
Adoption  of  standards,  17, 19,  24,  2,% 

289.  349. 
Adsessor.  499. 

Adult  baptism,  85.  87,  135,  139. 
Adultery.  99. 

Advisory  Committee  of  Home  Mis- 
sions, 395. 
Affinity : 

elective  courts.  1 76. 

marriage,  100-103. 
Africa : 

missions  in.  451. 
African  Fund.  452. 
Agreement  of  parties,  191,  218,  241, 

365.  366,  374. 
Aid : 

to  Candidates.  303,  306-310,400, 
408-411. 

to  chapels.  181,  444. 

to  churches,  381-384,  464-467. 

to  colleges,  311,  411,  438,  454. 

to  Ministers,  385-400.  463-469. 
disabled.  447-451. 

to  schools.  -106.  454-463. 

to    widows    of    Ministers,    446- 
451. 
Allahabad  College,  438. 
Alliance : 

Evangelical,  94,  266. 

Presbyterian.  265-268. 
Altovnatos".  178.  508-510. 
Ambassador,  45. 
Amendments : 

to  constitution,  19j  273-276. 

to  motions,  493. 
American  ; 

Baptist  Missionary  Union,  433 

Hiblo  Society,  4M". 

H.  C.  F.  M.,431,  43J. 

649 


550 


INDEX. 


American  : 

College  and  Education  Society, 
409. 

Colonization  Society,  455. 

Education  Society,  408. 

Home  Missionary  Society,  390. 
and  Church  Extension,  392. 

Temperance  Society,  470. 

Tract  Society,  416. 
Annual  collections,  64,  109,  464-469, 

475-481. 
Annuity  and   Life  Insurance  Com- 
pany, 447. 
Apostles,  41. 

gifts  of,  42,  174. 

successors  to,  48,  174. 
Apostolic  churches,  11,  44,  53,  61, 

115,  171. 
Appeals,  184-195. 

absence  of  records  in,  188,  191. 

appellant  in,  186. 

before  commission,  190,  241,  254. 

and  complaints,  184. 

conditions  of,  186. 

from    congregational    meeting, 
160. 

decision  of,  185,  192,  239. 

under  Plan  of  Union,  262. 

and  decision  of  civil  court,  191. 

dismissed,  191. 

eflfect  of,  187,  239. 

final,  239,  245,  253. 

in  General  Assembly,  253. 

heard,  188,  241. 

inferior  court  in,  189. 

informalities  in,  191,  239,  244. 

limitation  of  time  in,  186,  187. 

from  the   Moderator,  126,  160, 
496. 

of  congregational  meeting, 
160. 

notice  of,  186,  187. 

original  parties  in,  189. 

in  other  churches,  193-195. 

in  Presbytery,  184-193. 

records  read  in,  189. 

and  references,  184. 

retirement   of   parties   in,    188, 
190. 

right  of,  185. 

in  Synod,  238,  241. 

vote  taken  on,  188,  192. 

voters  in,  193. 

to  what  court,  160,  253. 
Appellant,  186. 

absence  of,  191. 


Appellant : 

notice  by,  187. 

rights  of,  188,  191,  218. 

spirit  of,  186. 
Application : 

for  aid.     See  Boards. 

for  membership  in  church,  85, 
135-141. 

in  Presbytery,  204. 
Apprentices,  baptism  of,  85. 
Appropriations.     See  Boards. 
Approval : 

of  overtures,  272-276. 

of   records,   167-169,   221,  222, 
244. 
Ashmun  Institute,  314,  454. 
Assembly.    See  General  Assembly. 
Assess,  power  to,  517. 
Assessment: 

mileage,  515. 

supplemental     contingent     ex- 
penses, 516. 
Assessor,  499. 
Assistant  Pastor,  49,  120. 
Associations,  196,  369. 
Attendance : 

on  church  courts,  162,  178,  248, 
501,  508. 

expenses  of,  513. 

of  commissioners,  248,  501,  508. 
Attestation  of  replies  from  Presby- 
teries, 276. 
Auburn  Theological  Seminary,  313. 
Auction  of  pews,  343. 
Authority  : 

of  the  Church,  24,  27, 117,  121. 

of  the  constitution,  17,  24,  324, 
348,  487. 

of  courts,  27,  117,  122,  185. 

of  General  Assembly,  252,  255, 
298. 

of  Moderator,  485-487,  491. 

of  officers,  25,  45,  52,  117. 

of  records,  0.  S.  and  N.  S.,  265. 

of  Scripture,  27,  421. 

of  state,  18,  23,  117,  191. 

Bans,  105. 
Baptism,  82-89,  139. 

administered  by  whom,  83. 

adult,  85,  87,  135,  139. 

and  circumcision,  83. 

efficacy  of,  84. 

and  excommunication,  89. 

half-way  covenant,  88. 

infant,  85-87. 


INDEX. 


551 


Baptism : 

lay,  15. 

mode  of,  89. 

in  other  churches,  83,  84,  88. 

private,  90. 

on  profession  of  faith,  85,  87, 
135,  139. 
general,  87. 

not  recognized,  84. 

Romish,  84,  85,  173. 

sponsors  in,  88. 

subjects  of,  85,  86. 
Baptist  Church,  154,  360. 

missions,  427,  433. 
Baptized  members.  111,  137. 

and  Catechism,  106,  107. 

discipline  of.  111,  112. 

dismissed,  141. 

instruction  of,  106. 

and  parents,  106. 

responsible  to  Session,  106,  111. 

rights  of,  56. 

roll  of,  169. 

and  Sabbath-schools,  107. 

witnesses,  133. 
Benediction,  47,  114. 
Benevolence,  475-481. 
Bible: 

authority  of,  27,  421. 

distribution,  413. 

imprints  of,  413. 

Mohegan,  427. 

publication  of,  413. 

revision  of,  415. 

societies,  414. 
Biddle  University,  316,  455. 
Bigamy,  97,  99,  103. 
Bishops,  45-52. 

in  other  churches,  43,  46,  174, 
193,  198. 
Blackburn  University,  314. 
Blanks  for  reports,  169,  226,  481. 
Bluffton  Institute,  466. 
Board,  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.,  431,  434. 

Am.  Home  M.,  390. 

and  church  extension,  392. 
Board  of  Deacons,  70. 
Board  of  Education,  305,  400-412. 

applications  to,  306-310. 

appropriations  of,  306-310. 

and  Candidates,  305-310. 

and  colleges,  411. 

committees  on,  409,  411. 

early  measures,  306. 

and  freedmen,  456. 

functions  of,  411. 


Board  of  Education : 

and  parochial  schools,  406-408. 

and  Presbyteries,  306. 

scholarships  of,  309. 

and  seminaries,  305,  308. 
Board  of  Church  Erection,  439-445. 

applications  to,  443. 

and  chapels  and  schools,  444. 

and  manses,  475. 
Board  of  Church  Extension,  441. 
Board  of  Missions,  388,  390,  395,  434, 
435. 

and  Church  Extension,  439. 

and  common  Board  of  Agency, 
390. 
Board  of  Missions,  Domestic,  395. 

early   measures,    109,    385-388, 

451-453. 
Board  of  Missions,  Home,  385—400 

applications  to,  396. 

and  Church  Extension  Commit- 
tee, 393. 

committees  of,  391-395. 

departments  of,  459-465. 

and    Committee   on    Freedmen, 
460. 

and  Missionaries,  383,  398. 

and  sustentation.  465. 

women's,  398-400. 
Board   of   Missions,   Foreign,   42fi- 
439. 

committee  of,  437. 

early   measures,   426,    428-430 
4.33. 

and  education,  438. 

of  other  churches,  426,  433. 

women's,  438,  439. 
Board  of  Publication,  412-426. 

colporteurs  of,  422-424. 

committee  of,  417-419. 

departments  of,  420-426. 

early  measures,  412-414. 

Missionaries  of,  422-424. 

and    Sabbath-school   literature, 
417-425. 

and  Sabbath-school  work,  424:- 
426. 

superintendents  of,  423. 

Trustees  of,  448. 
Board  of  Relief,  446-451. 

applications  to,  450. 

early  measures,  446-448. 

permanent  fund  of,  448. 
Board  of  Trustees : 

of  Church,  38. 

of  General  Assembly,  448. 


652 


INDEX. 


Board  of  Trustees : 

of  Presbytery,  39,  445. 
Boards,  385-451. 

anticipated,  388. 

collections  for,  109,  475-481. 

and  committees,  389. 

and  General  Assembly,  242,  389. 

origin  of,  387. 

powers  of,  389. 

and  Presbyteries,  392,  397. 

reports  of,  389. 

secretaries  of,  52,  250,  363. 

and  Session,  110,  480. 

and  Synod,  242,  477. 

women's,  399,  438. 
Bohemian  church  government,  12. 
Bond  of  Union,  171-175. 
Book  of  Church  Order,  33. 
Book  of  Common  Order,  12. 
Book  of  Discipline,  Pirst  and  Second, 

12. 
Book  of  Discipline,  12,  17. 

amended,  19,  20,  273-276. 

revised,  274-276. 
Book  of  records : 

of  congregations,  lfiO-337. 

of  Deacons,  70. 

of   judicatories,   165,   226,   243, 
601. 
Book   and   tract   distribution,   412- 

424. 
Books : 

character  of,  412,  418,  421. 

Sabbath-school  and  Session,158, 
425. 
Boundaries: 

of  Presbyteries,  176,  178,  240. 

of  Synods,  233,  256. 
Brainerd  Institute,  462. 
British  ancient  Church,  12. 
Bureau   for   unemployed   Ministers, 
211. 

Call  of  Meetinos.     See  Meetings. 
Call  to  church  office,  285. 

to  the  Ministry,  300. 
Call  of  Pastor,  203,  338. 

approved,  347. 

a  contract,  203,  338-311,  343. 

disapproved,  347. 

and  installation,  344. 

made  out,  332-340. 

in  other  churches,  334,  357-362. 

placed  in  hands,  344,  366. 

presented    to    Presbytery,    346, 
363,  365. 


Call  of  Pastor  : 

prosecuted,  346,  363-367. 

and    salary   of    former   Pastor, 
348. 

signed,  344. 

voters  of,  335. 
Call  of  Professors  and  Secretaries, 

315,  363. 
Calvin  and  church  government,  12. 

and  Foreign  Missions,  426. 
Campbellites,  84,  200,  269. 
Candidates  for  ministry,  195,  299. 

application  for  aid,  306-310. 

and  Catechism,  107. 

colored,  318,  322,  454. 

dismissed,  208. 

duties  of,  310,  313. 

and  Board  of  Education,  306 
310. 

employed,  323,  328. 

examined,  195,  303,  319,  357. 

licensed,  302,  317,  323. 

from  other  churches,  200. 

in  other  churches,  196,  357-362. 

preaching,  323. 

and  Presbytery,  195,  303,  312, 
317,  325. 

and  Professors,  308. 

qualifications  of,  302-304. 

received,  195,  303. 

responsible,  113,  130,  195,  302, 
304,  309,  325. 

and  seminaries,  308,  312,  313- 
315,  317,  322. 

and  standards,  324,  349. 

study,  311,  312,  313. 

transferred,  317,  326. 

women,  301. 
Candidate  for  Pastor  : 

called,  203,  332-344,  363. 

Moderator,  127. 

ordained  and  installed,  345,  351- 
356,  367-370. 

in  other  churches,  334. 

procured,  329-332. 

who  may  be,  329. 
Candidating,  329. 
Casting  vote,  486,  491. 
Catechism,  14,  19,  106. 

and   constitution,  19,  273,  324 
348. 

taught,  106,  107, 159,  320,  324. 

Heidelberg,  106. 
Catechists,  108. 
Catechising,  105-108. 
Catholic  Apostolic  Church,  43. 


INDEX. 


553 


Catholic,  R.,  schools,  23,  131,  412. 
Caution  in  receiving  charges,  216. 
Censure,  155. 

on  absent  person,  155. 
for  contumacy,  132,  252. 
on  courts,  188,  240,  267,  469. 
degrees  of,  119,  166,  219. 
removed,  120,  220. 
Centennial  of  Independence,  484. 
Central   Am.    Educational    Society, 

410. 
Certificate : 

of  credence.  147. 

of  dismission,  139,  142,  144, 145, 

146,  286,  291. 
of  license,  325. 
to  Minister,  204,  206,  208. 
qualified,  146,  206. 
of  reception,  146. 
Chairmen  of  committees,'485,  491. 
Change  in  constitution,  273-276. 
Change  of  time  and  place,  237. 
Chanting,  78. 
Chapels,  181,  444. 
Chaplains,  51. 
Charges  against: 

communicants,    113,    132,    134, 

291. 
judicatories,  267. 
Ministers,  204,  215-220. 
Charges  at  ordination,  290,  366,  356, 

370. 
Charges,  pastoral  and  mission,  464, 

466. 
Charters,  36,  37,  39,  445. 
Cheap  Repository  Tracts,  416, 
Children,  138. 

baptized,  85-87. 

and  communion,  91,  137. 

consecrated,  300. 

instructed,    106,    107,   131,  406, 

412,  424,  425,  460. 
in  R.  C.  schools,  23,  131,  412. 
and  Session,  107,  131,  158,  425. 
Choir,  76. 
Christians,  269. 
Church,  9,  23,  28,  29,  116. 
Baptist,  154,  196,  360. 
collected,  41. 

Congregational,  10,  175,  359. 
courts,  114-123,  173. 

attendance  upon,  162,  178, 

248,  501,  508,  513. 
and  Deacons,  69. 
disciplined,   188,  240,  257, 

459. 
47 


Church  courts : 

fallibility  of,  27,  172. 

of  other  churches,  166, 193- 

195,  197. 
power  of,  117,  173. 
on  Sabbath,  236. 

Episco'pal, '9,  46,  152,  174,196, 
357. 

Reformed,  153,  198. 
erection,  439-445. 
extension,  391-394,  439-441. 
fallibility  of,  172. 
government,  9-12, 114-123, 171- 
176. 

in  earlv  Church,  12,  44, 114. 

kinds  of,  9-12. 

necessity  of,  30,  114. 

origin  of,  11,  44,  115. 

under  Plan  of  Union,  261- 
263. 

Presbyterian,  10,  21-27,44, 
115,  173,  247. 

right  to  determine,  23,  115. 

uniformity  of,  172. 
head  of,  9,  28. 
Lutheran,  154,  197. 
membership  of,  9,  23,  29. 
Methodist,  166,  176,  361. 
officers,  41-71,  298. 
origin  of,  28,  41. 
particular,  29. 

call  Pastor,  332-339. 

charter  of,  36-39. 

cited,  189. 

and  congregation,  35-39. 

creeds,  138,  172. 

dismissed  and  received,  225. 

dissolved  and  divided,  144, 
224. 

and  General  Assembly,  258. 

grievances,  376-379. 

imperfectly  organized,  34. 

income  of,  342-344. 

members  of: 

baptized.  111,  138. 
communing.    See  Com* 

MUNICANTS. 

object  of,  30. 

officers  of.    See  Ruling  Eii" 

DEn  and  Deacon. 
ordinances  of,  71-114. 
how  organized,  30-35.  224. 
and  Pastor,  180,  329-380. 
Presbyterian  : 

first,  in  America,  14, 15. 


554 


INDEX. 


Church,  particular : 

and  Presbytery,  30-35, 180. 
beyond  Presbytery,  31,  33, 

50,  178,  356. 
property  of,  36-41.     ■ 
represented  in  judicatories, 

175-182,  231. 
received,  224. 
and  rotary  eldership,  294- 

299. 
and  society,  37. 
Trustees  of,  38-41. 
vacant,  124,  128,  181,  212- 

214,  328,  382,  504-506. 
visited,  223. 

withdraw,  148,  214,  225. 
power,  27,  117,  121,  172. 
Presbyterian,  10-27, 44, 115, 173, 

275. 
Romish,  9,  43,  46,  85,  173. 
and  State,  18,  23,  117. 
Unitarian,  84,  116. 
unity  of,  28,  29,  171. 
Churches : 

collegiate,  129,  180. 

extinct,  144,  224. 

in  foreign  lands,  55,  432,  434, 

437. 
and  General  Assembly,  258. 
Imperfectly  organized,  34. 
mission,  181. 
mixed,  262. 
other  recognized,  9,  23,  29,  116, 

200,  258. 
under  Plan  of  Union,  261-263. 
united,  180. 
Circular  letter,  272. 
Circumcision,  82,  83. 
Citations  : 

of  accused,  132. 
of  congregation,  364,  374. 
of  judicatories,  189,  240,  257. 
of  witnesses,  132-134. 
Civil  courts,  18,  23,  94,  117. 

decisions   in   judicatories,    117, 
191. 
Civil  marriages,  95. 
Clerks,  499-604. 

chosen,  501-504. 
and  commissioners,  501,  511. 
of  congregation  meeting,  39. 
duties  of,  492,  499,  501. 
of  General  Assembly,  498. 
members  of  court,  500. 
power  over  papers,  499,  502. 
of  Presbytery,  501. 


Clerks : 

salary  of,  501,  503. 

of  Session,  164,  500. 

of  Synod,  243,  501. 

Close  communion,  89. 

Closed  doors,  169,  230,  496. 

Collections,  109. 

for  the  Boards,  64, 110, 464-469 

475-481. 
for  Commissioner  Fund,  513. 
for  other  objects,  111. 
for  Pastor's  salary,  343. 
for  poor,  64,  109,  159. 
and  Session,  110,  169,  480. 
College  in  India,  411,  438. 
College  of  New  Jersey,  311,  401. 
and  Professor  of  Theology,  401. 
and  Theological  Seminary,  404. 
Colleges,  311. 

Collegiate  churches,  129,  180. 
Colonization  Society,  465. 
Colored  race,  451-463. 

Candidates  and  Licentiates,  318^ 

322,  451-463. 
churches,  467,  461,  463. 
Ministers,  318,  452,  455. 
taught,  451-463. 
Colportage,  323,  422-424. 
Columbia  Graded  School,  462. 
Columbia  Seminary,  405. 
Commission,  190. 

chairman  of,  485,  491. 
judicial,  190,  218,  241. 
quorum  of,  242. 
report  of,  190,  241. 
to  take  testimony,  133. 
Commission  of  commissioners,  280, 

610-512. 
Commissioners : 

of  congregation,  364,  365,  375. 
to  General  Assembly,  248,  280, 
506-518. 

to  adjourned  meeting,  277, 
509. 

committee-men,  263,  508. 
expelled,  252. 
expenses  of,  513. 
fund,  513. 

from  new  Presbyteries,  607. 
receive  printed  minutes,618 
report  of,  508,  510. 
Committee : 

advisory,  Dom.  Missions,  395. 

appointed,  491. 

of  arrangements   516. 

on  Benevolence,  475-481. 


INDEX. 


555 


Committee  : 

and  Board,  389. 

chairman  of,  485,  491. 

on  commissions,  511. 

on  correspondence,  260,  268. 

to  defend  court,  189. 

on  Education,  409,  456. 

on  Elections,  511. 

on  Church  Erection,  441. 

on  Church  Extension,  393,  439. 

on  Freedmen,  451-463. 

on  Commissioner  Fund,  513. 

and  General  Assembly.  388,  389. 

on  Church  History,  481-483. 

Judicial,  496. 

on  Manses,  472-475. 

on  Mileage,  514. 

on  Missions,  387,  388. 
to  Freedmen,  460. 
Foreign,  431-433,  439. 
Home,  394,  398,  459. 

to  nominate  Pastor,  330. 

Permanent,  388,  389. 

of  Prosecution,  497. 

on  Publication,  418,  419. 

on  Relief  Fund,  448. 

Report,  478. 

on  Revision,  20,  274-276. 

Standing,  388,  389. 

on  Sustentation,  463-469. 

on  Temperance,  469-472. 
Committee-men,  34,  263,  282,  508. 
Common  Board  of  Agency,  .390. 
Common  fame,  216,  497. 
Communicants : 

absent,  142,  148-151,  284. 

cited,  132,  133. 

contumacious,  132, 133. 

demand  trial,  135. 

demission  of,  150-152. 

disciplined,   89,   111,   119,    142, 
155,  284. 

dismissed,  132,  141-147. 

ol  dissolved  church,  144. 

dropped,  150,  215. 

meetings  of,  160,  283,  332-337. 

membership    of,    91,    138,    145, 
147-152. 

in  other  churches,  152-157. 

received,  135-141,  146. 

released  to  world,  151. 

on  reserved  list,  150. 

responsible,  113,  130,  195. 

restored,  69,  138,  292. 

and  standards,  26. 

Buspended,  142,  284. 


Communicants : 

in  transitu,  132. 

unconverted,  150-152. 

vote: 

for  church  oflBcers,  283. 
for  Pastor,  335. 
for  Trustees,  38. 

withdraw,  147,  148,  150. 

witnesses,  133. 
Communion . 

administered,  91),  92,  93,  497. 

close,  89. 

and  Deacons,  63,  69. 

exclusion  from,  90,  111,  155,  219, 
291. 

and  fasting,  93. 

invitation  to,  91. 

in  other  churches,  152-155. 

private,  93. 

terms  of,  24,  91,  136. 

wine  at,  92. 
Competency  of  witnesses,  133,  134. 
Complaints,  184,  186,  188,  244. 

action  on,  188,  191,  192. 

and  appeals,  184. 

effect  of,  187,  239. 

notice  of,  187. 

voters  in,  193. 

to  what  court,  253. 
Concert  of  prayer,  74,  94. 
Concurrent  declarations,  264,  265. 
Conference,  preliminary,  266. 
Confession  of  Faith,  14,  17,  19. 

adopting,  17,  289,  349. 

revision  of,  20,  274-276. 
Confession  of  guilt,  155,  217. 
Congregation,  30,  35,  36,  37. 

chartered,  36-39. 

cited,  364,  365,  372,  375. 

collected,  33,  50,  356. 

commissioners  of,  364,  375. 

meetings,  39,  160,  283,  332-344. 

vs.  Pastor,  376-380. 

and  Session,  160. 

unorganized,  35. 

vows  of,  352. 
Congregational     Church,    10,    175, 

359. 
Congregational  library,  418. 
Consanguinity,  100-103. 
Conscience,  22,  24,  27,  150-152. 
Consent  of  parties,  189, 190,  218,  241, 

264-267. 
Consociation,  175. 
Constitution    of    Presbyterian   Alli- 
ance, 266-268. 


556 


INDEX. 


Constitution  of  Presbyterian  Church, 
19,  24,  25,  273",  324,  348. 
revised,  20,  273-276. 
Constitutional  Rules,  272. 
Contingent  fund,  515. 
Contumacy,  132,  133,  252. 
Convention  of  women,  439. 
Co-Pastor,  49,  129,  180. 
Copies  of  records,  167,  189,  222. 
Corporate  rights  of  0.  S.  and  N.  S. 

churches,  265. 
Corporation  for  relief,  447. 
Correspondence,  259-261. 
Corresponding  members,  250,  256. 
from   Congregational   churches, 

34,  250,  261,  282. 
in  General  Assembly,  250,  258- 

268. 
in  Presbytery,  230,  258. 
in  Session,  164. 
in  Synod,  238,  258. 
Council : 

congregational,  175. 
(Ecumenical,  266. 
of  Presbyterian  Alliance,  266. 
Counsel  for  accused,  132,  217. 
Course  of  study  in  theological  sem- 
inary, 322. 
Courts,  114-123. 

of   appeal,   122,   160,   184,  238, 
247,  252. 

final,  239.  253. 
civil,  18,  23,  94,  117,  191. 
disciplined,  188,  240,  257,  459. 
elective  affinity,  176. 
fallible,  27,  172. 
lower  heard,  189. 

retire,  190. 
of  original  jurisdiction,  113, 130, 

171-173,  252. 
of  review  and  control,  120,  122, 
171-173,  221,  240,  254. 
Credibility  of  witnesses,  134. 
Creeds,  138,  173,  349. 
Cromwell  and  foreign  missions,  427. 
Cumberland  Presbytery,  269. 

Danville  Theological  Seminary, 

313. 
Days  of  prayer,  95. 
Deaconess,  66,  67. 
Deacons,  60-71. 

accounts  of,  69. 

Board  of,  70. 

decline  to  serve,  285,  294. 

disciplined,  291. 


Deacons : 

dismissed,  291. 

duties  of,  38,  62. 

elected,  32,  66,  68,  282-285. 

electors  of,  68,  283. 

fund  of,  63,  64,  109. 

incompetent,  292-294. 

installed.  32,  68,  286-290. 

and  judicatories,  69,  292. 

and  Lord's  table,  69. 

meetings  of,  70. 

and  Ministers  and   Ruling   El 
ders,  65,  68,  285. 

office  of,  44,  62,  290,  294. 

ordained,  32,  68,  286-290. 

origin  of  office  of,  61. 

in  other  churches,  70,  71. 

preach,  65. 

qualifications  of,  62,  65,  66. 

records  of,  70. 

resign,  59. 

responsibility  of,  69,  113. 

restored,  59,  294. 

and  Ruling  Elders,  65,  285. 

and  Session,  64,  69. 

and  standards,  288. 

term  or  rotary,  69,  294-299. 

and  Trustees,  38,  39,  63. 

and  vacant  churches,  505. 

vows  of,  288. 

without  charge,  291-294. 
Decisions : 

in  appeals  and  complaints,  185, 
192,  239. 

authority  of,  27,  117,  185,  255, 
265. 

in  other  churches,  193. 

reasons  of,  recorded,  188,  244. 
Declaration  and  testimony  men,  271. 
Delegates,  162,  234. 

chosen,  162. 

expenses  of,  513. 

to  Presbytery,  162,  178-182. 

to  Synod,  231,  234,  235. 
Demission,  150-152,  209. 
Departments  of  Boards.  See  Boards. 
Deposed  Ministers,  219. 

restored,  220. 
Deposed  Ruling  Elders  and  Deacons, 
69. 

restored,  59,  294. 
Directory  for  AVorship,  14,  18. 

revised,  19,  273-276. 
Disabled  Ministers,  446-451. 

Fund,  448. 
Disapproval  of  records,  168,  222. 


INDEX. 


557 


Disciples  or  Campbellites,  84,  200, 

269. 
Discipline,  27,  111,  112, 121, 131-135, 
155. 
Book  of,  12,  17. 

revised,  19,  20,  273-276. 
degrees  of,  119,  155,  219. 
by  General  Assembly,  252-254. 
importance  of,  27,  121. 
object  of,  27,  112,  121. 
in  other  churches,  156, 167, 193- 

195. 
under  Plan  of  Union,  262. 
by  Presbytery,  113,  184-193. 
regularity  of,  172. 
by  Session,  111-113,  124,  130- 

135,  155,  240. 
subjects  of,  111-113. 
by  Synod,  238-242. 
in  vacant  churches,  124,  128. 
Discontinue  a  trial,  135. 
Discretion,  years  of,  87,  91. 
Dismission,  141-155. 
of  baptized,  141. 
of  Candidates,  208. 
of  churches,  225. 
of  communicants,  141-147. 
indefinite,  143. 
irregular,  147. 
of  Licentiates.  208. 
of  Ministers,  206-209. 
in  other  churches,  152-155. 
when  take  effect,  145. 
Disorderly  termination  of  member- 
ship, 141,  147. 
Disruption  of  O.S.  and  N.S.  churches, 

269,  270. 
Dissatisfaction    with    Pastor,    376- 

380. 
Dissolution : 

of  churches,  224. 

of  General  Assembly,  277,  280, 

497. 
of  pastoral  relation,  203,  226, 
241,  363,  365,  371,  381. 
in  other  churches,  380. 
Distribution  : 

of  records  in  court,  189. 
of  tracts,  412-424. 
District  superintendents,  423. 
Divide  churches,  224. 
Divorce,  99,  103,  104. 
Doctrinal  controversies,  254,  256. 
Doctrinal  soundness,  26,  172,  204. 
Doctrinal  tracts,  418. 
Doctrine  and  practice,  25. 
47* 


Domestic  Missions,  381-400. 

Board  of,  395. 

early,  109,  385,  428,451. 

fund  of,  109,  385,  428. 

by  General  Assembly,  383. 
Domestic  Missionaries,  50,  356,  381- 
387. 

itinerant,  51,  383,  386. 

responsibility  of,  383,  398. 
Donegal  schism,  268. 
Double  vote,  280,  486. 
Dropped  from  roll,  150-152,  208,  209, 

215. 
Duelists,  136. 
Duties  of: 

Candidates,  310,  313. 

Clerks,  492,  499-504. 

Deacons,  25,  38,  60-71. 

denominations,   9,  23,  29,   116, 
200,  268. 

Evangelists,  31,  356. 

General    Assembly,    245,    252- 
276. 

Licentiates,  83,  324-326. 

Ministers,  26,  45-52,  349-352. 

Moderators,  337,  485-499. 

Pastors,  25,  45-52. 

Presbyteries,  184-226. 

Ruling  Elders,  25,  52-60,  288, 
297. 

Sessions,  129-163. 

Synods,  238-242. 

Editors,  52. 
Education  : 

Board  of,  400-412. 

and  Board  of  Foreign  Missions, 
438. 

committee  on,  409,  456. 

early  measures,  306,  400-403. 

female,  131,  412,  461. 

fund,  402. 

negro,  451-463. 

scheme  of,  402. 

societies,  408-410. 

Society,  Am.,  408. 
Effect  of  appeal  and  complaint,  187, 

239. 
Elders.     See  Ruling  Elders. 
Election  : 

of  Clerk,  165,  501-504. 

of  Commissioners,  248,  506-508. 

of  Deacons,  32,  66,  282-299. 

of  delegates,  162,  178-182. 

irregular,  283. 

mode  of,  changed,  294,  298. 


558 


INDEX. 


Election : 

of  Moderator,  279,  487-490. 

of  Pastors,  161,  335-338. 
in  other  churches,  334. 

of  Professors,  315,  363. 

of  Ruling  Elders,  32,  57,  282- 
299. 

rotary  or  term,  291-299. 

of  secretaries,  363. 

of  Trustees,  38. 
Elective  affinity  courts,  176. 
Electors : 

of  church  officers,  57,  68,  283, 
284. 

of  Pastors,  161,  335. 

of  Trustees,  38. 
Eliot  and  missions,  426. 
Emancipation  Proclamation,  454. 
Engagement,  marriage,  105. 
English  Presbyterian  Church,  12, 14. 
Entertainment  of  General  Assembly, 
516. 

Fund  for,  516,  517. 
Envelope  plan,  343. 
Episcopal  Church,  9,  46,   152,  174, 
196,  357. 

Board  of  Missions  of,  433. 

Reformed,  153,  198. 
Erection,  Church,  439-445. 
Evangelical  Alliance,  94,  266. 
Evangelist,  31,  33,  50,  366,  357. 
Examinations : 

of  Candidates,  195,  303,  319,  348. 

for  admission  to  Presbytery,  204. 

of  records,  167,  221,  240,  254. 
Exception  to  records,  168,  222. 
Excommunication,  89,  119. 
Expenses  of  delegates,  513. 
Expository  preaching,  81,  505. 
Extemporary  preaching,  81. 
Extension,    Church,   391-394,   439- 

441. 
Extinct  churches,  224. 
Extinct  Presbyteries,  206. 
Extracts  from  records,  166,  499,  502. 
Extraordinary  officers,  42. 

Faith  and  Practice,  25,  27,  42. 
Faith,  profession  of,  135-140. 
Fairfield  Institute,  462. 
Fallibility  of  Church,  27,  172. 
Fasting,  93. 
Fellowships,  406. 
Female  education,  131,  412,  461. 
First  Book  of  Discipline,  12. 
Foeticide,  104,  256. 


Forbearance,  25. 
Foreign  Licentiates,  206. 
Foreign  Ministers,  206,  207. 
Foreign  Missions,  426-430. 
A.  B.  C.  F.  M.,  431,  434. 
of  American  Church,  428. 
Board  of,  426-439. 

Women,  438. 
committees  on,  431—433. 
early  efforts,  426-430. 
and  Indians,  426-430. 
Moravian,  427. 
societies,  426-435. 
women's,  439. 
under  Synod,  428,  429. 
Western  F.  M.  Society,  435-437. 
Foreign  Missionaries,  285,  383,  451. 
responsibility  of,  383. 
as  Ruling  Elders,  285. 
Foreign  Presbyteries,  431,  432,  515. 
Form  : 

of  call.  Pastor,  338. 
of   certificates.      See    Certifi- 
cates. 
of  government,  19,  273,  348. 
revised,  19,  20,  273-276. 
of  installation  : 

of   Pastors,   351-356,  367- 

370. 
of  Ruling  Elders  and  Dea- 
cons, 287-290. 
of  licensure,  323-325. 
of  ordination  : 

of  Ministers,  351-357. 
of  Ruling  Elders  and  Dea- 
cons, 257-290. 
of  organization  of  church,  30- 

41. 
of  reception  of  Communicants, 
138. 
Four  years  in  seminary,  322,  323. 
Freedmen,  451-463. 

and  Board  of  Home  Missions, 

460. 
committee  on,  451,  457,  460. 
Department  of  Board  of  Home 

Missions,  459. 
early  efforts,  451. 
schools  for,  454,  461-463. 
French  Presbyterian  Church,  16. 
Friends : 

baptism  of,  87. 
marriage,  96. 
Fund: 

African,  452. 
Commissioners',  513. 


INDEX. 


559 


Fund:  I 

for  Disabled  Ministers,  448, 449. 

Education,  402.  | 

Entertainment,  516-618. 

Erection,  443. 

Indian,  428. 

Mission,  385. 

for  Pious  Uses,  385,  439. 

Poor,  63. 

Relief,  449. 

Supplementary,  516-518. 

Sustentation,  463-469. 

Widows',  446,  447. 
Funerals,  136,  158. 

General  Assembly,  245-281. 
appeals  in,  252,  253. 

final,  239,  245,  253. 
authority  of,  245,  252,  255,  298. 
and  Board  of  Education,  308, 

309. 
and  Boards,  242,  389. 
the  Bond  of  Union,  252. 
and  churches,  258,  517. 
clerks  of,  499-504. 
commissions  of,  241,  256. 
commissioners  of,  248,  252,  280, 

497,  506-518. 
committee-men  in,  263,  282,  508. 
and  committees,  388,  389. 
and  constitution,  273-276. 
constitutional  rules,  272. 
corporate  rights  of,  265. 
correspondence,  250,  258-268. 
corresponding  members  of,  250. 
decisions  of,  255. 
dissolution  of,  277,  280,  497. 
and  doctrinal  controversies,  254, 

256. 
first,  247,  248. 
and  final  appeal,  245,  253. 
letters,  pastoral,  from,  272. 
and  lower  courts,  243,  252. 
meetings  of,  276-278. 

adjourned,  276,  509. 

place  and  time  of,  248,  276, 
497. 
and  Ministers,  252,  258,  383. 

foreign,  206,  207. 
minutes  of,  502,  515,  518. 
and  missions,  383,  391-394, 431- 

437. 
Moderator  of,  278-280,  485-499. 
of    0.  S.    and   N.  S.    branches, 

246. 
origin  of,  246. 


General  Assembly: 

and  other  churches,  258,  259. 
opened,  278,  279,  489-498. 
and  overtures,  241,  272-276. 
pastoral  letters  of,  272. 
and  permanent  committees,  388, 

389. 
and  Plan  of  Union,  261-263. 
popular  meetings  at,  497. 
powers  of,  245,  252-276. 
and  Presbyterian  Alliance,  265- 

268. 
and  Presbytery,  253,  257. 
and  questions  in  thesi,  255. 
quorum  of,  251. 
ratio  of  representation  in,  248, 

249,  516. 
recommendations  of,  255. 
of  reunited  Church,  246. 
and  rules,  constitutional,  272. 
and  schism,  268-272. 
and  seminaries,  309,  315. 
and  Sessions,  258. 
and  slavery,  451-460. 
and  standards,  20,  273-276. 
and  standing  committees,  887. 
and  standing  orders,  497,  498. 
and  standing  rules,  272. 
and  Southern  Pres.  Church,  247. 
and  Synods,  233,  234,  237,  252- 

257. 
testimony  of,  256. 
and  theological  seminaries,  309, 

315. 
title  of,  246. 
trial    by   commission    in,    241, 

256. 
triennial,  276,  277. 
Trustees  of,  448. 
consummate  union,  263. 
women's  convention  during,  439. 
General  Presbytery,  246. 
General  Rules  for  Judicatories,  490- 

498. 
General  rumor,  216,  497. 
General  Superintendent  of  Sabbath- 
school  work,  425. 
German  schools,  400. 
German  theological  seminaries,  314. 
Gifts,  extraordinary,  42. 
Girls'  school,  131,  412,  461. 
Glebe,  339,  472. 
God-parents,  88. 
Goodness  and  truth,  25. 
Government,  church,  9-12,  114-123, 
171-175. 


560 


INDEX. 


Governiuent,  church: 

by  courts,  114-123. 

definite,  30,  111. 

in  early  Church,  44,  114. 

kinds  of,  9-12. 

necessity  of,  .30,  114. 

origin  of,  11,  44,  115. 

under  Plan  of  Union,  261-263. 

Presbyterian,  10,  21-27,44,  115, 
173,  247. 

by  representatives,  52-60,  234, 
248. 

right  to  determine,  23,  115. 

uniformity  of,  172. 
Graded  schools,  462. 
Grievances,  372-379. 

of  Pastor,  372-376. 

of  people,  376-379. 
Guilty,  plea  of,  155,  217. 

Half-way  Covenant,  88. 
Hand  of  fellowship,  290,  354. 
Heathen  : 

baptism  of,  86. 

marriages  of,  99. 

missions  to.     See  Foreign  Mis- 
sions. 

witnesses,  134. 
Heidelberg  Catechism,  106. 
Helper,  50. 
Heresy,  216,  256. 
Highest  court  of  appeal,  239,  245, 

253. 
Historical  sermons,  484. 
Historical  Society,  481-485. 
Home  instruction,  131,  425. 
Home  Missions,  381-400. 

applications  to,  396,  397. 

Board  of,  385-400. 

departments  of,  459,  465. 
Freedmen,  469. 
sustentation,  465. 
Women,  398-400. 

committee  on,  391-395. 
advisory,  395. 

early,  385. 

Fund,  385. 

by  General  Assembly,  383. 

societies,  390. 
Home  Missionaries,  382-384. 

Evangelists,  60. 

itinerant,  51,  386. 
Honorably  retired,  52,  211. 
House,  Presbyterian,  419,  420. 
Hymnal,  79. 
Hymn-books,  77-80. 


Immersion,  89. 

Imperfectly  organized  churches,  34. 

Imposition  of  hands,  197,  286,  287, 

353. 
Incapacity  of  Ruling  Elders,  292. 
Incorporation,  36,  37,  39,  445. 
Indefinite  dismission,  143. 
Independent  Brethren,  269. 
Independent  church  government,  10. 
Independent    Synod    of    Missouri, 

271. 
Indian,  430. 

Fund,  428. 

Missions,  428-430,  434. 
Indiana  Theological  Seminary,  313. 
India,  missions  in,  427,  428. 
India  Theological  Seminary,  438. 
Induction  of  Moderator,  279,  489. 
Infanticide,  104,  256. 
Infants  baptized,  86-87,  91. 
Inferior  judicatory  heard,  189. 

retire,  190. 
Informal  meetings  of  Session,  125, 

140,  171,  496. 
Installation,  202,  286,  345,  367. 

necessity  of,  286,  290,  298,  370. 

and  ordination,  286,  346. 

in  other  churches,  371. 

of   Pastor,  202,   361-356,    367- 
370. 

of  Ruling  Elder  and  Deacon,  32, 
287-290,  298. 

time  and  place  of,  345,  367. 

vows  at,  362,  368. 
Instruction  : 

of  children,  106,  131,  158,  406, 
412,  417,  424. 

of  colored  race,  451-463. 
Insurance,  life,  447. 
Intemperance.     See  Temperance. 
Interlocutory  meetings,  496. 
In  transitu,  50,  132. 
Irish  Presbyterian  Church,  14,  463. 
Irregular  elections,  283. 
Itinerant  Missionaries,  51,  383,  386. 

Jefferson  College,  312. 
Jesus  Association,  426. 
Judgment,  private,  22. 
Judicatories,  114-123. 

open  and  private,  230,  496. 

in  other  churches,  162-155,  193- 
195. 
Judicial  business,  128,  215,  496. 
Judicial  commission,  218,  241,  254. 
Judicial  committee,  496. 


INDEX. 


561 


Jurisdiction  over : 

baptized  members,  106, 112, 130. 
Candidates,   113,   130,  195,  302, 

304,  309,  317,  325. 
communicants,  113,  130. 
in  transitu,  132. 
suspended,  113,  130. 
Licentiates,  113,  130,  325. 
Ministers,  50,  113,  176,  204,  252. 
Missionaries,  113,  383,398. 
original,  113,  130,  176,  204,  252. 
Ruling  Elders  and  Deacons,  58, 
69,  113. 

Knowledge  and  Religion,  25. 

Ladies'  Boards,  399,  438. 

Ladies'  schools,  131,  412. 

Lane  Theological  Seminary,  313. 

Lay  baptism,  83. 

Laying  on  of  hands,  197,  287,  353. 

Lay  on  table,  493. 

Lay  ordination,  200. 

Lay  preaching,  50,  80,  505. 

Letters.     See  Certificates. 

circular,  272. 

pastoral,  272. 
Liberia,  455. 
Liberty,  Christian,  22. 
Library,  Sabbath-school,  159,  425. 
License,  196,  299-328. 

by  commission,  190. 

examination  for,  318,  319. 

expire,  327. 

form  of,  323,  325. 

and  ordination,  196,  323. 

in  other  churches,  196,  357-362. 

renewed,  327. 

revoked,  327. 

temporary,  323. 

by  what  Presbytery,  302,  317. 

vows  at,  324. 

when  applied  for,  321. 
Licentiates,  317. 

and  benediction,  114. 

as  Candidates  for  pastorate,  328- 
332. 

and  Catechism,  320,  324. 

as  Clerks,  500. 

colored,  318,  322,  451-453. 

communicants,  113, 130,304,325. 

dismissed,  208.  326. 

duties  of,  83,  324-326. 

foreign,  206. 

and  judicatories,  326. 

and  marriage,  95,  326. 


2L 


Licentiates  : 

as  Moderator,  127,  326,  498. 

ordained,  197.  351. 

from  other  churches,  201,  206. 

powers  of,  324. 

qualifications  of,  318-321. 

preach,  328. 

received,  206. 

responsible,  113,  130,  325. 

and  standards,  3?4. 

transferred,  326. 

women,  301. 
Life  insurance,  447. 
Limited  eldership,  294-299. 
LincolnUniversity,314,318,322,455. 
Liquor,  drinking  and  sale  of,  136. 
List,  reserved,  150. 
Literature,  Sabbath-school,  159, 417, 

424,  425. 
Liturgies,  75. 

Loans  of  Erection  Fund,  442,  444. 
London  Missionary  Society,  427. 
Lord's  Supper,     See  Communion. 
Luther  and  foreign  missions,  426. 
Lutheran  Church,  154,  197. 

Makemie,  Rev.,  14. 
Manses,  339,  472-475. 

and  Board  of  Erection,  475. 
committee  on,  472-475. 
Marriage,  95-106. 

Mass.  Society  for  Christian  Know- 
ledge, 416. 
Mass.  Tract  Society,  416. 
Masters  and  baptism,  86. 
Means  of  grace,  71-114. 

and  Session,  80,  158-160,  505, 
506. 
Medway  Graded  School,  462. 
Meetings : 

of  congregation,  160-162. 

called  by  Session,  160,  283, 

demanded,  160,  332. 

to  elect  commissioners,  374- 

379. 
to  elect   Pastor,  161,  332- 

344. 
to  elect  Ruling  Elders  and 

Deacons,  160,  283. 
and  resignation  of  Pastor, 

374-379. 
to  elect  Trustees,  39. 
officers  of,  39,  160,  333,  337, 

379. 
opened  and  closed,  335. 
records  of,  337. 


562 


INDEX. 


Meetings  : 

of  General  Assembly,  276-278, 

497. 
adjourned,  276,  509. 
Clerk  of,  499-504. 
dissolved,  277,  280,  497. 
interlocutory,  496. 
Moderator  of,  278-281,485- 

499. 
opened  and  closed,  278. 
place   and   time,  248,   276, 

497. 
pro-re-nata,  277. 
records  of,  602,  515,  518. 
popular    at    judicatories,    497, 

498. 
of  Presbytery,  226-229. 
adjourned,  228. 
interlocutory,  496. 
intermediate,  227. 
less  than  a  quorum,  183. 
officers  of,  486,  488,  498,  499, 

601-504. 
opened     and    closed,    229, 

498. 
ordered  by  Synod,  229. 
place    and    time,   227-229, 

237. 
private,  230,  496. 
pro-re-nata,  227,  228. 
records  of,  226,  240. 
on  Sabbath,  236. 
stated,  227. 
of  Session,  162. 
called,  163. 
demanded,  163. 
informal,  125,  140,  171,496. 
interlocutory,  164,496. 
for  judicial   business,   128, 

163. 
officers    of,    126-129,    164- 

170. 
opened  and  closed,  170,  498. 
private,  163,  496. 
records  of,  165,  188,  221. 
of  Synod, 236-238. 
adjourned,  237. 
failure  of,  236. 
interlocutory,  496. 
less   than   a   quorum,  235, 

236. 
officers  of,  243, 485-497, 501- 

604. 
opened  and  closed,  243,  497. 
place  and  time,  237. 
private,  496. 


Meetings  of  Synod : 

pro-re-nata,  237,  238. 
records  of,  243. 
on  Sabbath,  236. 
stated,  243. 
of  women's  convention,  439. 
Members : 

baptized.     See  Baptized  Mem- 
bers. 
of  Boards,  387-389. 
of  church.     See  Communicants. 
of  commissions,  190,  242. 
of  committees,  491. 
of  General  Assembly.    See  Com- 
missioners. 

at  adjourned  meetings,  276. 
corresponding,     260,     268- 
268. 
of  judicatories,    123,    176,  231, 
248. 

retire,  190. 
vote,  193,  222,  494. 
as  witnesses,  133,  134. 
of  Presbytery,  175-182. 

at  adjourned  meetings,  228. 
corresponding,  230,  258. 
examined,  205. 
of  extinct  Presbyteries,  206,  242. 
of  Session,  123. 

corresponding,  164. 
of  Synod,  231-235. 

at  adjourned  meeting,  237. 
corresponding,  238,  258. 
Membership,  church,  9,  23,  29. 

begin  and  terminate,  138,  145, 

147,  150. 
of  the  disciplined,  142. 
of  the  dismissed,  141,  145. 
of  the  restored,  138. 
Methodist    Episcopal    Church,    166, 
176,  361. 
Book  Concern,  416. 
Mileage,  Committee  on,  514-517. 
Minister,  translation  of,  362-371. 
Ministerial : 

parity,  10,  46. 
relief,  449. 

support,  338-344,  468. 
sustentation,  463-469. 
Ministers,  45-62,  55,  65. 
absent,  179,  210. 
accused,  215. 
accuser  of,  215. 
authority  of,  27,  117. 
and  baptism,  83,  87,  139. 
and  benediction,  47,  114. 


INDEX. 


563 


Ministers  : 

and  church  membership,  130. 

over  two  churches,  49,  129,  180. 

called,  161,  335-338. 

cited,  133,  134. 

colored,  318,  451-463. 

as  counsel,  132,  217. 

counsel  for,  217. 

demand  trial,  216. 

demit,  209,  210,  215. 

deposed,  201,  221. 

disabled,  446-451. 

dismissed,  204-209. 

dropped  from  roll,  208,  209,  215. 

duties  of,  25,  45,  47-52,  349,  351, 

352. 
elected  Pastor,  161,  332-338. 
Evangelists,  31,  33,  50,  356,  357. 
foreign,  206,  207. 
honorably  retired,  52,  211. 
installed,  202,  351-356,  367-370. 

in  other  churches,  371. 
in  transitu,  50. 
itinerant,  51,  383,  386. 
judged,  204,  215. 
and  Lord's  Supper,  90,  92,  93. 
members : 

of  church,  130. 

of  court,  175,  231,  248. 

of  Presbytery,  175,  206, 242. 
Missionary,  51,  383,  384,  386. 
Moderators,  126-129,  498. 
office  of,  perpetual,  44. 
ordain,  32,  57,  68,  287. 
ordination  of,  197,  300,  353. 

in  other  churches,  357-362. 
and  ordinances,  74,  76,  80,  82- 

93,  95,  106,  109,  114. 
organize  churches,  30-35,  224. 
parity  of,  10,  46. 
priests,  47. 

qualifications  of,  45,  55,  348, 351. 
and  qualified  letters,  206. 
and  quorum,  124,  125. 
received,  205-207,  221. 
rejected,  204-206. 
removed,  203,  226,  240,  363, 367, 

371-381. 
responsible,   50,    113,  176,  204, 

240-242,  252,  383,  398. 
restored,  214,  220. 
retired,  52,  211. 
and  Ruling  Elder,  55,  57,  285. 
and  Sabbath-school,  107,  158. 
and  sacraments,  83,  87,  90-93, 
139. 


Ministers  : 

and  secular  business,  209,  451. 

sine  titulo,  47,  50,  201. 

and  the  standards,  24,  25,  349. 

suspended,  216,  220. 

translated,  362-371. 

tried,  215,  221. 

unemployed,  210-213. 

Unitarian,  84,  116,  200. 

vows  of,  349,  361,  352. 

withdraw,  24,  2l4. 

without  charge,  47,  50,  57,  66, 
177,  210. 

witnesses,  133,  134. 

women,  81,  301. 
Ministry,  45-52. 

call  to,  300. 

distinct  from  eldership,  55,  285. 

parity  of,  10,  46. 

threefold,  46,  198,  357. 
Minors,  communicants,  87,  284. 
Minutes.     See  Records. 
Minutes  of  General  Assembly.  502, 

515,  518. 
Minutes  of  less  than  a  quorum,  125. 
Miraculous  gifts,  42. 
Mission  : 

chapels,  181,  444. 

charges,  464. 

Fund,  385. 

pastorates,  466. 

Presbyteries,  177,  432,  506. 
Missionaries,  51. 

of  Board  of  Publication,  422- 
424. 

and  the  Boards,  392,  397. 

colored,  318,  451-455. 

Evangelists,    31,    33,    50,    356, 
357. 

foreign,  285,  383,  451. 

and  General  Assembly,  383, 393, 
432. 

itinerant,  51,  383,  386. 

Moravian,  427. 

Pastors,  384,  386. 

responsible,  113,  383,  398. 

Ruling  Elders,  285. 

superintendents  of,  423. 
Missionary  department,  420-426. 
Missionary  Fund,  385. 
Missionary  societies,  427,  431-439. 
Missions,  381-485. 

Boards  of.     See  Boards. 

Committees    of.      See    Commit- 

TEES. 

early,  109,  385,  426,  451. 


564 


INDEX. 


Missions  : 

and  General  Assembly,  383,  391- 

394,  431-437. 
and  Presbytery  of  Salem,  437. 
and   Synod   of   Pittsburg,  435, 
436. 
Mixed  churches,  262. 
Mode  of  electing  officers,  279,  282, 
488,  489. 
changed,  294,  298. 
Moderator,  485-499. 

authority  of,  485-487,  491. 
call  meetings,  163,  277. 
chosen,  279,  488,  489. 
and  committees,  491. 
of  congregation,  160,  333,  337, 
379. 

appeal  from,  160,  333. 
duties  of,  229,  243,  278, 280,  337, 

485-499. 
of  General  Assembly,  278-281, 
485-499. 

last  present,  278. 
inducted,  279,  489. 
in  judicial  cases,  128,  280,  488. 
last  present,  487. 
leave  the  chair,  280,  488. 
member  of  judicatory,  278,  487. 
a  Minister,  128,  498. 
and  oaths,  486. 
preach,  229,  243,  278. 
of  Presbytery,  488,  498. 
of   Session,   126-129,  487,  488, 
498. 

appeal  from,  126. 
convene  Session,  163. 
other  than  Pastor,  126,  498. 
of    vacant    churches,    128, 
488. 
of  Synod,  237,  489,  498. 
vote  of,  280,  486,  491. 
Mohegan  Bible,  427. 
Monthly  concert  of  prayer,  74. 
More,  H.,  Tracts,  416. 
Moravian  missions,  427. 
Mormonism,  97. 
Morse,  Rev.  Jedidiah,  416. 
Music,  76,  77,  159. 

and  Session,  76,  159. 

Names  of  Ministers,  45. 
Narrative  of  religion,  169,  226,  245. 

blanks  for,  109,  226. 
Necessity    of    church    government, 
114. 

of  Ruling  Elders,  34. 


Negro.     See  Colored. 

Negro  slavery,  451-463. 

New  Albany  Theological  Seminarv, 

314. 
New  England  Tract  Society,  416. 
New  Light  party,  269. 
New  School  branch,  264,  269-271. 
New  version  of  Bible,  415. 
Nomination  of  officers,  160,  283. 
Non-communicants'  vote,  38. 
Normal  classes,  425,  426. 
Normal  schools  for  Freedmen,  462. 
North-western  Advisory  Committee, 

395. 
North-western     Theological     Semi- 
nary, 313. 
Notice : 

of  appeal  and  complaint,  187. 

of  congregational  meeting,  333. 

of  deposition  of  Ministers,  220. 

of  reception   of  members,  138, 
141. 

Oaths  administered,  120,  486. 
Object: 

of  discipline,  121. 

of  church  government,  27,  121, 

172. 
of  ordinances,  72. 
of  particular  churches,  30. 
of  union  of  churches,  172. 
CEcumenical  Council,  266. 
Offences,  118. 

Offenders,   132,  155,  189,  215,   240, 
257,  364,  374. 
cited,  132. 

disciplined,  111,  112,  155,  252. 
restored,    138,    214,    220,    292, 
294. 
Officers : 

of  church,  25,  41-71. 

chosen,  32,  57,  66, 161,282- 

299,  335-338. 
duties  of,  25,  38,  45-71,  28"it, 

297,  349-352, 
electors  of,  66,  68,  283,  335 
extraordinary,  42. 
permanent,  44,  115. 
qualifications  of,  26,  45,  57, 

66,  285,  348. 
and  standards,  24,  26,  288, 
349. 
of  congregational  meetings,  39, 

160,  333,  337,  339. 
of  Sabbath-sehool,  158,  159. 
of  synagogue,  44,  53,  61. 


INDEX. 


565 


Old  and  New  School  churches,  264, 
269,  270. 
records  of,  265. 
union  of,  264,  265. 
Old  psalms,  78. 
Open  and  private  judicatories,  163, 

230,  496. 
Opening  sermon,  229,  243,  278,  488. 
Order,  rules  of,  490-497. 
Orderly    appeals    and    complaints, 

186. 
Orders,  standing,  497,  498. 
Ordinances,  71-114. 

of  Old  and  New  Testaments,  72, 

82. 
and  Session,  74,  329,  504-509. 
in  vacant  churches,  80,  329,  504- 
509. 
Ordination,  51,  301,  356. 

of  Ministers,  197,  300,  353. 
charges  at,  355,  356. 
by  fraud,  201. 
and  installation,  345,  354. 
lay,  200. 

in  other  churches,  357-362. 
of    other    churches    recog- 
nized, 26,  200. 
of  Roman  Catholic  Church, 

197,  200. 
on  Sabbath,  202,  350. 
sine  titulo,  51,  301,  356. 
time  and  place,  200, 345, 350. 
trials  for,  348. 
Unitarian,  200. 
votes  for,  350. 
vows,  288,  349,  351,  352. 
by  what  Presbytery,  202. 
by  whose  hands,  199,  353. 
of  women,  81,  301. 
of  Ruling  Elders  and  Deacons, 
286,  287. 

charges  at,  290. 
necessary,  286,  290. 
vows,  288. 

without  election,  283. 
Organization  of  Church,  30-41,  224. 
Origin  of  Church,  28,  41. 
Origin  of  church  government,  11,  44, 

115. 
Original  jurisdiction,  113,  130,  176, 

204,  252. 
Original  parties,  189. 
Orphans,  heathen,  and  baptism,  86. 
Overtures  : 

to  General  Assembly,  231,  242. 
to  Presbyteries,  272-276. 
48 


Pan-Presbyterian    Council,    265, 

266. 
Papal  church  government,  9. 

and  children,  106,  107,  131,  300. 
consent  to  marriage,  96,  105. 
and  Sabbath-school,  108. 
Parity  of  Ministers,  10,  46. 
Parochial  schools,  406-408,  462. 
Parsonages,  339,  472-475. 
Particular  church.     See  Church. 
Parties,  original,  189. 
Parts  of  trial,  319-321,  348-350. 
Passover,  73,  82. 
Pastoral : 

churches,  464. 
letters,  272. 

relation,  328-362,  367,  371-381. 
constituted,    202,    351-356, 
367-370. 

in  other  churches,  371. 
dissolved,  203,  226, 241, 363, 
371-381. 

in  other  churches,  380. 
permanent,  362,  373. 
visitation,  157. 
Pastors,  45-50. 

assistant,  49,  128. 

and  church  courts,  175,  231,  248, 

501,  504. 
CO-,  49,  129,  180. 
communicants,  130. 
over  churches,  49,  129,  180 
duties  of,  25,  45-52. 
elect,  50,  127. 
elected,  161,  335-338. 

in  other  churches,  334,  336. 
electors  of,  161,  336. 
emeritus,  49,  123. 
helper,  50. 

installed,    202,    351-356,    367- 
370. 

in  other  churches,  371. 
Moderator,    125-129,    160,   333, 

337,  379,  387. 
ordain,  59,  68,  287. 
and  ordinances,  74,  76,  80,  82- 

93,  95,  106,  109,  114. 
ordination  of,  197,  300,  353. 
and  people,  372-376. 
and  Presbytery,  204,  210,  343. 
procured,  329-332. 
and  quorum,  124,  125. 
removed,  203,  226,  240,  363,  367, 

371-381. 
resign,  203,  371-381. 


566 


INDEX. 


Pastors : 

resign  in  other  churches,  380. 

and  Ruling  Elders,  45,  48,  55, 
57. 

and  Sabbath-school,  108,  158. 

and  sacraments,  83,  87,  90-93, 
139. 

salary  of,  203,  338-344, 379,  466- 
469. 

sought,  329-332. 

suspended,  220. 

translated,  203,  362-371, 

tried,  204. 

and  Trustees,  37. 

vs.  people,  372-376. 

voters  for,  161,  335. 

withdraw,  24,  208,  210,  214. 
Penalties,  119,  166,  219. 
People : 

and  representation,  53, 162, 178- 
182. 

V8.  Pastor,  376-379. 

Permanent  Clerks,  602. 
Permanent  Committee,  288,  289. 

on  Benevolence,  475-481. 

and  Boards,  289. 

on  Correspondence,  268. 

on  Education,  409,  456. 

on  Erection,  441. 

on  Extension,  393,  439. 

on  Freedmen,  451-463. 

on  Manses,  474. 

ou  Missions,  389. 
Foreign,  433. 
Home,  394,  469. 

on  Publication,  418,  419. 

on  Relief,  448. 

on  Sustentation,  465. 

on  Temperance,  469-472. 
Permanent  oiBcers,  44,  116. 
Permanent    eldership,    44,    58,    294, 

295,  298. 
Perpetual  eldership,  44,  58,  294-298. 
Petition  : 

for  organization  of  church,  31. 

right  of,  185. 
Pew-holders,  161,  335. 
Pew-rents,  342. 

Philadelphia  Education  Society,  410. 
Place  of  meeting  changed,  237. 
Plan  of  Union,  251,  261-263. 
Plea  of  guilty,  156,  217. 
Polity.     See  Government. 
Polygamy,  97. 
Poor.     See  Deacon. 

Fund,  63. 


Pope,  9,  46,  85,  173. 

Popular  meetings,  497,  498. 

Postponement,  493. 

Posture  in  prayer,  76. 

Pouring  in  baptism,  89. 

Power  of  Boards,  389. 

Power,  church,  24,  27,  117,  121,  185. 

source  of,  26-28,  44,  118. 
Power : 

of  church  courts,  27, 1 1 7, 122,185. 

of  church  officers,  25,  45,  62, 117. 

of  civil  courts,  18,  23,  117, 191. 

of  General  Assembly,  246,  252, 
255. 

ministerial,  27,  117,  163. 

of  Presbytery,  184-226. 

of  Session,  131-163. 

of  Synod,  238-242. 

of  Trustees,  40,  41. 
Praise,  76-80. 
Prayer,  74-76,  81,  94,  95. 

week  of,  94. 
Preacher  of  opening  sermon,  229, 243, 

278,  488. 
Preaching,  80-82,  328. 

extempore,  81. 

lay,  61,  80. 

in  vacant  church,  80. 

without  license,  80,  323. 

women,  81. 
Preliminary  Principles,  21-27. 
Presbyter.     See  Minister. 
Presbyterial  schools,  400. 
Presbyterial  visitation,  223. 
Presbyterian  : 

Alliance,  265-268. 
in  India,  438. 

Annuity  and  Life  Insurance  Co., 
447. 

Boards.     See  Boards. 

churches,  10-15. 

0.  S.  and  N.  S.,  34,  264,  269, 
270. 

Historical  Society,  481-485. 

House,  419,  420. 

Hymnal,  79. 

Polity,  10,  11,  116,173,  247. 
importance  of,  116. 
origin  of,  11,  115. 

Tract  and  S.  S.  Book  Soc,  417. 
Presbyterianism,   10,   11,  21-27,  44, 
115,  176,  247. 

in  early  Church,  44,  53,  54. 

in  New  Testament,  11, 21-27, 44, 
53,  115. 

in  Old  Testament,  11,  186. 


INDEX. 


5G7 


Presbytery,  171-231. 

absentees  from,  179,  210. 
appeals  in,  184-195. 
and  Boards,  303-309,  392,  397. 
boundaries  of,  176,  178. 

changed,  178,  240,  257. 
chartered,  39,  445. 
and  church  charters,  36-39. 
and  churches,  extinct,  144,  224. 
churches  represented  in,  178. 
cited,  240. 
Clerk  of,  501. 

commissions  of,  190,  218,  241. 
commissioners  of,  246,  248,  280, 

506-518. 
and  congregations,  35,  364,  365, 

372-375. 
corresponding  members  of,  230, 

258. 
delegates  from,  232-235. 
delegates  to,  162,  178-182. 
dissolved,  177,  257. 
divided,  240,  257. 
and  doctrine  and  discipline,  223. 
elective  affinity,  176. 
extinct,  206,  242. 
first,  12,  16,  246. 
foreign,  431,  432,  515. 
formed,  178,  207,  257. 
and  General  Assembly,  242,  253, 

257,  273,  276. 
incorporated,  39,  445. 
less  than  five  Ministers,  177. 
meetings.     See  Meetings. 
members  of,  175-182,  204. 
corresponding,  230,  258. 
examined,  204. 
and  Ministers,  177,  206. 
mission,  177,  432,  506. 
and  Missionaries,  113,  383,  398. 
and  missions,  381-383,  386,437. 
Moderator  of,  488,  498. 
narrative  of,  22<5,  245. 
overtures  to,  242,  273. 
powers  of,  184—226. 

over  Candidates,  195,  303- 
328. 

to  employ,  323,  328. 
to   examine,    195,  303, 

319,  367. 
to  license,  196,  302,  317, 

323-325. 
to  receive  and  dismiss, 

195,  208,  303. 
to      recommend,      303, 
306-309. 


Presbytery,  powers  of,  over  Candi- 
dates : 

to  superintend,  195,  304,312, 
over  churches,  30-35,  180,  212, 
328,  382. 

to  assess,  517. 

to  cite,  361,  374. 

to  dismiss,  225. 

to  dissolve,  144,  224. 

to  divide.  224. 

to  form,  30,  35,  224. 

to  receive,  224. 

to  superintend  vacant,  212- 

214,  328,  382,  505. 
to  unite,  224. 
to  vacate,  203,  226,  241,  363, 

371-381. 
to  visit,  223. 
over    commissioners,    280,    506, 

608. 
over  communicants,  144,  224. 
over  congregations,  35,  364,  365, 

372-376. 
over  Licentiates : 

to  approve  call,  344-348. 

to  examine,  348. 

to  extend  or  recall  license, 

327. 
to  ordain,  197,  351. 
to  receive  and  dismiss,  206, 

208. 
to  superintend,  113, 130,  325. 
over  members  of,  132,  203-209. 
to  censure,  132,  252. 
to  judge  qualification,  204. 
to  receive  and  dismiss,  203- 
209. 
overMinisters,  113, 176,201-204, 
210-214. 

to  approve  calls,  203,  338, 

347,  3G6. 
to  approve  salary,  338-346. 
to  cite,  133,  134,  215. 
to  direct,  210-213. 
to  discipline,  201,  215-221. 
to  dissolve  pastoral  relation, 
203,   226,  241,  36.3,  371- 
381. 
to  examine,  204. 
to  install,  202, 351-356, 367- 

370. 
to  judge,  201,  216-221. 
to  receive  and  dismiss,  203- 

209. 
to   remove,    203,    226,  241, 
363,  371-381. 


568 


INDEX. 


Presbytery,  powers  of,  over  Minis- 
ters: 

to  restore,  214,  220. 
to  translate,  362-371. 
over  Missionaries,  113,  383,  398. 
over  Ruling  Elders  and  Deacons, 
58,  69. 

to    commission,    248,    506- 

508. 
to  discipline,  58,  124,  130, 

132. 
to  retire,  293,  294. 
over  Sessions : 

to  answer  appeals,  etc.,  185- 

193. 
to  appoint  Moderators,  128, 

488. 
to  cite,  189. 
to  direct,  211-214,  505. 
to  review  records,  167,  221. 
quorum  of,  182. 

less  than,  183,  184. 
records  of,  226. 
reports  of,  226. 
schools  under,  400. 
and  Session,  130,  171-173. 
succession  of,  257. 
and  Synod,  239,  240. 
territory  of,  176,  178. 
Trustees  of,  39. 

try  by  commission,  190, 218, 241. 
Precentor,  77. 
Presiding  officer,  485. 
Previous  question,  493. 
Priests,  47. 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary,313. 
Principal  commissioner,  508. 
Principles  of  Presbyterianism,  9,  10, 

21-27,  44,  115,  173,  247. 
Printed  minutes,  502,  515,  518. 
Private  judgment,  22. 
Private  meetings,  230,  496. 
Probation  of  foreign  Ministers,  200, 

207. 
Probationers,  299. 

Process,  judicial,  129,  131-135,  155. 
Profession  of  faith,  135-140. 
Professor  of  Theology,  312. 
Professors  in  theological  seminaries, 
52,  308. 
and  Candidates,  308. 
chosen,  315,  363. 
responsible,  113,  130,  176,  204, 
316. 
Property  of  church,  36-41. 
Prophets,  43. 


Pro-re-nata  meeting,  227,  237,  277. 
Prosecutor,  131,  134,  496. 

of  a  Minister,  215. 
Prosecuting  Committee,  497. 
Psalms  and  hymns,  78. 
Psalms,  old,  78. 
Psalmist,  79. 
Publication,  412-426. 

of  bans,  105. 

of  Bibles,  413. 

Board  of,  412-426. 

departments  of,  420—426. 

of  books  and  tracts,  415-422. 

Committee  on,  418,  419. 

early  measures,  412. 

of  lesson-helps,  424. 

of  restoration,  220. 

of  sentence,  220. 

by  Synod,  417. 
Puritans,  15. 

Qualifications: 

for  baptism,  85-87, 135, 136, 139 

of  Candidates,  302-304. 

of  communicants,  91,  135-141. 

of  Deacons,  24,  26,  62,  65,  66. 

of  Licentiates,  318-321. 

of  members  of  Presbytery,  204 

of  Ministers,  24,  26,  46,  55, 348, 
351. 

of   Ruling   Elders,   24,  26,   56, 
288. 
Qualified  certificates,  146,  206. 
Questions  of  doctrine  and  discipline, 

223,  273. 
Questions  in  thesi,  255. 
Quorum,  490. 

of  commissions,  242. 

of  General  Assembly,  251. 

less  than,  125, 183, 184,  236,  257, 
491. 

of  Presbytery,  182. 

of  Session,  124. 

of  Synod,  235. 

Ratio  of  Represkntation,  232,  233, 

235,  218,  516. 
Reading  records,  188,  189. 
Reading  sermons,  81. 
Reasons  recorded,  188. 
Reception  : 

of  churches,  225. 

of  Licentiates,  206. 

of  members,  91,  135,  140. 

of  Ministers,  205-207,  221. 

of  Probationers,  206,  299. 


l.XDEX. 


569 


Kecognition  of  other  churches,  9,  23, 

29,  116,  200,  258. 
Recommendations : 

for  aid,  303,  306-809,  396,  443, 

450,  451. 
of  General  Assembly,  252,  255. 
Record : 

of  license,  325. 
of  ordination,  355. 
of  trial,  165,  188,  189,  244. 
Record-book : 

of  church  courts,  160,  165,  337. 
of  congregations,  160,  165,  337, 

501. 
of  Deacons,  70. 
Records  of  judicatories,  165,  226,  243, 
501. 
in  appeal,  188. 
approved,  167-169,  221,  244. 
copies  of,  166,  222. 
of  0.  S.  and  N.  S.  churches,  265. 
printed,  1S9,  222,  601,  515,  518. 
not  private,  222, 
translated,  222. 
of  Trustees,  38. 
Reduction    of    representation,    248, 

249,516. 
References,  124,  184-187. 

and  appeals,  184. 
Reformed  churches,  10. 
Reformed    Episcopal    Church,    153, 

198. 
Reformers  and  Presbyterianism,  11, 

12. 
Registers,  sessional,  169. 
Re-installation,  298. 
Relation  of  Church  and  State,  18, 23, 
117. 
of  denominations,  9,  23,  29, 116, 

200,  258. 
pastoral,  328-362,  367,  371-381. 
Relief,  Board  of,  446-451. 
Relief  Fund,  449. 
Religious  Tract  Societies,  415,  416. 
Removal  of   Ruling  Elders,  58,  59, 
291-297. 
of  Ministers,  203,  226,  240,  263, 
367,  371-381. 
Reorganization  of  Synods,  232-236, 

266. 
Reports : 

of  Boards,  389. 
of  commissioners,  508,  510. 
of  commissions,  190,  191,  242. 
of  committees,  478. 
of  Presbyteries,  226. 
48* 


Reports : 

of  Sabbath-schools,  159. 
of  Sessions,  165,  169. 
of  Synods,  245. 
Representation,  52-60,  234,  248. 

reduced,  248,  249,  516. 
Representatives,    62-60,    162,    178- 
182. 
in  General  Assembly,  248. 
in  Presbyterv,  162,  178-182, 
in  Synod,  131-133,  135. 
Reserved  list,  160. 
Resignation  : 

of  Pastors,  203,  371-381. 

in  other  churches,  380. 
of  Ruling  Elders  and  Deacons, 
69. 
Resolved    doctrinal   questions,   223, 

273. 
Responsive  service,  75. 
Restoration  : 

of  communicants,  59,  138,  292. 

absent,  150,  284. 
of  Ministers,  214,  220. 
of  Ruling  Elders  and  Deacons, 
59,  292,  294. 
Retired  Ministers,  52,  211. 
Reunion,  terms  of,  264. 
Review,  courts  of,  120, 122,  171-173, 

221,  240,  262. 
Review  of   records,    167,    221,  240, 

254. 
Revision  of  New  Testament,  415. 
Revision  of  standards,  19,  20,  273- 

276. 
Right  of  appeal,  185. 
Right  hand  of  fellowship,  290,  354. 
Right  hand  of  welcome,  356,  370. 
Right  of  private  judgment,  22. 
Right  to  vote,  38,  283. 
Roll: 

of  absentees,  141-152,  284. 
of  baptized  members,  169. 
of  communicants,  141-152,  169. 
struck  fr:m,  150,  152,  208,  209, 
215. 
Roman  Cathoac  Church,  9, 43, 46,  85, 
173. 
baptism.  84,  85,  173. 
bond  of  union,  173-174. 
ordinati)n,  197,  200. 
schools,  23,  131.  412. 
Rotary  Ruling  Elders  and  Deacons, 

59.  69,  294-299. 
Rouse's  Version,  78. 
Rule  of  faith  and  practice,  27,  42. 


570 


INDEX. 


Ruler  of  sjnaijogne,  53. 
Rules,  constitutional,  272. 
Rules  of  order,  490-498. 
Rules,  standing,  272. 
Ruling  Elders,  52-60,  282-299. 
absent  from  Presbytery,  162. 
acting,  68,  178,  496. 
cease  to  act,  58,  178,  291,  292, 

297. 
certificate  of  dismission,  146. 
qualified,  146. 
returned,  145,  286,  291. 
in  Christian  Church,  44,  54. 
in  0.  T.  Church,  53. 
in  what  church  serve,  57,  286. 
and  communion,  93. 
and  Deacons,  65,  285. 
as  delegates,  162,  232,  248. 
decline  to  serve,  125,  285,  294. 
demand  trial,  135. 
disciplined,  58,  124,  130,  132. 
dismissed,  145,  291. 
duties  of,  52,  55. 

in  church.     See  Session. 
in  the  higher  courts,  59, 178, 

297,  354. 
in  sacraments,  83,  93. 
elected,  52,  57,  282-299. 
explain  Scriptures,  505. 
incompetent,  58,  291,  292. 
infirm,  58,  291. 
installed,  32,  287-290,  298. 
and  meetings  of  Session,  163. 
and  Ministers,  55,  57,  285. 
Moderator,  128,  498. 
necessary,  34. 
nominated,  283. 
ordained,  32,  57,  286,  287. 
and    ordinances,    80,   329,   504- 

509. 
and  ordination,  254,  288. 
of  Ministers,  354. 
of  Ruling  Elders  and  Dea- 
cons, 288. 
in  other  churches,  60. 
and  Pastor,  67,  123,  376. 
permanent,  58,  290,  294. 
perpetual,  44,  68,  295. 
and  quorum,  124,  182,  235,  251. 
re-elected,  296-298. 
relieved,  59,  291. 
resign,  59,  294. 
responsible,  58,  69,  113. 
restored,  69,  292,  294. 
return,  155,  286,  291. 
rotary,  69,  294-299. 


Ruling  Elders : 

and  sacraments,  83,  93. 

and  standards,  288,  289. 

suspended,  291. 

in  synagogue,  44,  53. 

term,  59,  294-299. 

unacceptable,  68,  292-294. 

of  vacant  churches,  56,  80,  328, 

6f5. 
vows  of,  289. 
who  may  be,  66,  285. 
withdraw,  147,  294. 
without   charge,    69,    178,    179, 
292,  297. 

Sabbath : 

breakers,  136. 
church  courts  on,  236. 
ordination  on,  202,  350. 
schools: 

and  Board  of  Publication, 

424-426. 
and  Catechisms,  107. 
colporteurs,  424. 
general   superintendent  of, 

425. 
helps,    159,    417,   424,  425, 

426. 
literature,  159, 417,  424, 425. 
music,  159. 

normal  classes,  425,  426. 
ofiieers,  168,  169. 
and  parents,  108. 
and  Pastor,  108,  168. 
reports  of,  159,  425. 
and  Session,  131,  158,  159. 
in  vacant  churches,  505. 
work,  424-426. 

Secretary  of,  425. 
Sacraments,  82-93. 

administered,  83-93. 
and  Deacons,  69. 
and  Licentiates,  83,  90,  326. 
and  ordinances,  73. 
and  Ruling  Elders,  83,  93. 
and  Session,  74,  135-141. 
Salary  of  Clerks,  501,  603. 
Salary  of  Pastors,  203,  338-344,  466- 
469. 
in  call,  338. 

changed,  .340,  341,  379. 
definite,  338,  339. 
of  former,  348. 
insufficient,  348,  372,  373. 
and  Presbytery,  344. 
how  raised,  342,  343. 


INDEX. 


571 


San  Francisco  Theological  Seminary, 

314. 
Scheme  for  education,  402. 
Schisms,  268-272. 
Scholarships,  309. 
Schools : 

and  Board  of  Erection,  444. 

for  Freedmen,  454,  461-463. 

for  girls,  131,  412,  461. 

parochial,  406-408,  462. 

presbyterial,  400. 

Sabbath.    See  Sabbath-school. 
Scotch  Missionary  Society,  428. 
Scotia  Seminary,  461. 
Scottish  Society  for  Christian  Know- 
ledge, 427. 
Scriptural  rule  of  faith  and  practice, 

27,  42. 
Second  Book  of  Discipline,  12. 
Secretary  of  S. -school  work,  425. 
Secretaries  of  Boards,  62,  250,  363. 

chosen,  363. 
Seminaries.     See  Theological  Sem- 

USARIES. 

Sentence,  119,  155,  219. 

degrees  of,  119,  219. 

published,  220. 

removed,  69,  138,  220,  292. 
Separations,  268-272. 

0.  S.  and  N.  S.  churches,  269, 270. 
Sermon,  opening,  229,  243,  278,  488. 
Sermons,  81. 
Service : 

installation,  289,  298,  351-356, 
367-370. 

ordination  of  Pastor,  351-357. 
of  Ruling  Elder,  287-290. 

in  vacant  churches,  80,  329,  604- 
609. 
Session,  123-171. 

appeals  from,  184-193. 

and  baptized  members,  111-113. 

and  Boards,  110,  480. 

and  Candidates,   11.3,  130,  195, 
302,  304,  309,  317,  326. 

censured,  179,  188. 

cite,  132-134,  240. 

cited,  189. 

Clerk  of,  164,  500. 

and  collections,  110,  159,  480. 

and  communicants,  129,  130. 

and  communion,  93. 

and  congregation,  160. 

corresponding  members  of,  164. 

and  other  courts,  130,  171-173. 

and  Deacons,  64,  69. 


Session  : 

delegates  of,  162,  178-182. 
discipline,  111-113. 

baptized  members,  111-113. 
Candidates,   113,  130,  195, 

303,  304. 
communicants,  89,  111,  119, 

142,  165,  284. 
Licentiates,  113,  130,  325. 
duties  of,  129-163. 
and  General  Assembly,  258. 
and  means  of  grace,  80, 158-160, 

605,  506. 
meetings.     See  Meetings. 

private,  163,  496. 
and  meetings : 

of  church,  160-162,  283. 
of  congregation,  161,  332- 
341,  374-379. 
and  Ministers,  1 25, 130, 134,  204. 
Moderator  of,  48,  126-129,  487, 

488,  498. 
and  music,  76,  169. 
nominate : 

Pastor,  329-332. 
Ruling  Elders  and  Deacons, 
16l'  283. 
opened  and  closed,  170,  498. 
and  ordinances,  74,  329,  504-609. 
and  parochial  schools,  406-408, 

462. 
and  Poor  Fund,  63,  64. 
powers  of,  131-163. 
and  Presbytery,  130,  171-173. 
quorum  of,  124,  125. 
receive  and   dismiss,  132,  135- 

141,  147. 
records  of,  165,  188,  222. 
registers,  169. 
reports,  166,  169. 
and    Sabbath-schools,  131,  158, 

169. 
and  sacraments,  83,  93. 
special,  123. 
Stated  Supply,  48. 
and  Temperance.    See  Temper- 
ance. 
and  Trustees,  40. 
of   vacant   churches,    134,   328, 

504-506. 
visited,  223. 
Sessional  jurisdiction,  58,  113,  130, 

195,  302,  304,  309,  317,  325. 
Sessional  visitation,  157. 
Sessions  of  General  Assembly,  258, 
497. 


572 


INDEX. 


Shorter  Catechism,  14,  19,  105,  159, 

273,  320,  324,  348. 
Slavery,  451-464, 
Slaves : 

and  baptism,  86. 

emancipation  of,  454. 

instruction  of,  451-458. 

traffic  in,  452,  458. 
Signers : 

of  call,  31,  344. 

of  petition  for  organization,  30. 
Sine  titulo  ordination,  51,  301,  356. 
Singing,  76-80. 
Sitting  in  prayer,  76. 
Societies : 

Bible,  414. 

educational,  408-410,  415,  427. 

missionary,  427,  431-436,  438, 
439. 

tract,  415-417. 
Society  and  church,  37. 
Soundness,  26,  172,  204. 
Source  of  power,  26-28,  44,  118. 
Southern  Presbyterian  Church,  271. 
South-western  Advisory  Committee, 

396. 
South-western  Theological  Semina- 
ry, 314. 
Sponsors,  88. 
Sprinkling,  89. 

Standards,  13,  17,  19,  24,  273,  324, 
349. 

amended,  20,  273-276. 

and  communicants,  26. 

and  Licentiates,  324. 

and  officers,  24,  26,  288,  349. 

revised.  20,  273-276. 
Standing  Committees,  388,  389. 

on  Benevolence,  476,  479. 

and  Boards,  389. 

on  Commissions,  511. 

on  Elections,  511. 

on  Extension,  393,  439,  440. 

on  Mileage,  514. 

on  Missions,  388. 
Home,  392. 
Foreign,  431. 

and  Permanent,  388,  389. 

on  Publication,  418. 
Standing: 

orders,  497,  498. 

rules,  272. 

rules  for  judicatories,  490-498. 

of  suspended  communicants,  142, 
284. 

of  suspended  Ministers,  220. 


State,  authority  of,  18,  23,  117,  191. 
State  and  Church,  18,  23,  117. 
Stated  Clerks,  501,  502. 
Stated  meetings,  227,  243. 
Stated  Supply,  48,  127,  370. 

plan,  329. 
Statistical  reports,  165,226,245,481. 
Students  for  ministry,  195,  299. 
Successors  of  Apostles,  43,  174. 
Superintendents  of  Board  of  Publi- 
cation, 423. 
Supplementary  Contingent  Expenso 

Fund,  516,  518. 
Supplementary  Fund,  Erection,  444. 
Suspended  members,  142,  284. 

dismissed,  142. 

restored,  59,  138,  292. 

standing  of,  142,  284. 

vote  of,  66,  284. 
Suspended  Ministers,  215,  220. 

dismissed,  206,  209. 

restored,  214,  220. 
Suspended  Ruling  Elders  and  Dea- 
cons, 291. 

dismissed,  142,  291. 

restored,  59,  294-299. 
Suspension  from  office,  291. 
Sustentation,  463-469. 

Committee  on,  464. 

conditions  for,  466,  467. 

department  of  Board  of  Home 
Missions,  465. 

Fund,  463-469. 

objects  of,  467. 

in  other  churches,  463. 

pastorates,  464. 

scheme,  464. 
Synagogues,  44,  53,  61. 
Synod,  231,  245. 

absentees  from,  240. 

appeals,  etc.  in,  239-241,  253. 

and  Boards,  242,  477. 

bounds  of,  234,  256. 
changed,  256. 

cited,  257. 

Clerk  of,  243,  501. 

commissions  of,  241. 

Committee  on  Beneficence,  480. 

corresponding  members  of,  238, 
258. 

delegates  to,  231,  234,  235. 

disowned,  257. 

dissolved,  256. 

duties  of,  238-242. 

fail  to  meet,  236. 

and  final  appeal,  239,  253. 


INDEX. 


573 


Synod : 

first,  16,  231. 

formed,  233,  256. 

and  General  Assembly,  233,  234, 

237,  245,  252-257. 
and  lower  judicatories,  231,  239, 

240. 
jurisdiction  of,  239. 
meetings  of,  236-238,  243. 
and  missions,  429,  435-437. 
of  Missouri,  271,  272. 
Moderator  of,  237,  489,  498. 
new,  234,  256. 
of  New  York,  268. 
of  Philadelphia  and  New  York, 

268. 
opened  and  closed,  243. 
and  overtures,  242. 
of  Philadelphia,  17,  268. 
powers  of,  238-242. 

to  assess  churches,  517. 
over    communicants,    235, 

239,  240. 

over    Ministers,    235,   239, 

240,  241. 

over  Presbyteries,  178,  239, 

240,  242. 
over    Ruling    Elders    and 
Deacons,  235,  239,  240. 

a  larger  Presbytery,  231-233. 

quorum  of,  235. 

records  of,  243-245. 

reorganized,  232-235,  256. 

reports  of,  245,  481. 

representation  in,  131-133, 135. 

review  records,  240. 

time  and  place,  237. 

try  by  commission,  241. 
Synodical  Committee : 

on  Benevolence,  477. 

on  Representation,  249. 

on  Theological  Seminaries,  404. 
Syrian  church  government,  12. 
Systematic  beneficence,  475-481. 
Systematic  giving,  464-467, 478, 481. 

Temperance,  136,  158,  469-472. 

and    church   membership,   136, 
469,  470. 

Permanent  Committee  on,  471. 
Temporary  Clerks,  503. 
Term  eldership,  59,  294-299. 
Terms  of  communion,  24,  91,  136. 
Testimony,  133,  134. 

printed,  189. 

recorded,  188. 


Testimony  of  judicatories,  122,  156, 

272. 
Thanksgiving,  76,  93,  95. 
Theological  College  in    India,  411, 

438. 
Theological  seminaries,  312-317,401- 
406. 
and    Board  of  Education,  305, 

308. 
and  Candidates,  308,  312,  317, 
322. 

colored,  314,  315,  318,  322, 

454,  455. 
Germans,  314. 
and  Catechism,  320. 
fellowships  in,  406. 
four  years'  course  in,  322,  323. 
and  General  Assembly,  309, 315, 

365. 
independent,  405. 
optional  course,  322. 
presbyterial,  405. 
and  Presbyteries,  312. 
Professors  of,  315,  316. 
synodical,  404. 
Threefold  ministry,  46,  198,  357. 
Time  of  installation  and  ordination, 

200,  345,  350,  367. 
Time  and  place  changed,  237. 
Title  of  General  Assembly,  246. 
Title  of  property,  36-41. 
Tokens,  92. 
Tracts,  412,  415,  418. 
Tract  societies,  415-417. 
Traffic  in  slaves,  452,  458. 
Translation  of  Pastors,  362-371. 
Treasurer  of  General  Assembly,  5(2. 
Trial,  131-135,  184-195,  215. 
of  appeals,  etc.,  184-196. 
with  closed  doors,  230,  496. 
by  commission,  190,  218,  241. 
of  communicants,  131-135. 
of  courts,  240,  257. 
demanded,  135,  216. 
discontinued,  135. 
in  judicatories,   131,  184,  215- 

220. 
of  Ministers,  215-220. 
originated,  131,  215. 
refused,  134,  135. 
of  Ruling  Elders  and  Deacons, 
58,  124,  130,  132-135. 
Trials  • 

for  license,  302,  303,  319,  320. 
for  ordination,  348-350. 
Triennial  Assemblies,  276,  277. 


574 


INDEX. 


Trustees,  38. 

Board  of,  38. 

of  Board  of  Publication,  448. 

and  Deacons,  38,  39,  63. 

electors  of,  38. 

of  Erection  Fund,  442. 

of  General  Assembly,  448. 

and  Pastor,  37. 

of  Presbyterian  House,  419,  420, 

449. 
of  Presbytery,  39. 
and  property,  40,  41. 
records  of,  38. 
and  Session,  40,  41. 

Unacceptability   op    Ruling   El- 
ders, 58,  292-294. 
Unbaptized  electors,  57. 
Unconverted  communicants,150-152. 
Unemployed  Ministers,  210-213. 
Union : 

of  churches,  172. 

with  other  churches,  263,  264. 

of  Old  and  New  School  churches, 

264. 
with  Southern  Church,  271 
terms  of,  264. 
Union  Theological  Seminary  of  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  405. 
in  New  York,  313,  405. 
Unitarian  Church,  84,  116. 
baptism,  84. 
Ministers,  200. 
United  Domestic   Missionary  Soci- 
ety, 391. 
United  Foreign  Missionary  Society, 

430,  433. 
United     Synod     of     Presbyterian 

Church,  247,  270,  459. 
Unity  of  Church,  28,  29,  171-175. 
Universal  Church,  29. 
Universalist  Church,  200. 
Unorganized  congregations,  35. 

Vacant   churches,    181,  212,  214, 

328. 
aided,  382. 

discipline  in,  113,  124,  128,  155. 
obtain  Pastor,  329-332. 
represented,  181,  328. 
responsible,  182,  382,  505. 
and  Ruling  Elders,  56,  80,  181, 

505. 
services  in,   80,   328,  329,  504- 

506. 
Session  of,  309,  505. 


Vacant  churches : 

and  unemployed  Ministers,  212- 
214. 
Verdict  of  civil  court,  117,  191. 
Version  of  New  Testament,  415. 
Vices,  122,  156,  272. 
Visitations,  157,  223. 

by  commission,  224. 

pastoral,  157. 

presbyterial,  223. 

sessional,  157. 
Vocation  to  ministry,  300, 

to  office,  285. 
Vote: 

in  appeal,  etc.,  188,  192. 

for  Moderator,  279,  488,  489. 

of  Moderator,  280,  486,  491. 

right  to,  38,  284. 
Voters : 

in  appeal,  193. 

for  Pastor,  161,  335, 

on  records,  222. 

for  Ruling  Elders  and  Deacons, 
56,  68,  283,  284. 

for  Trustees,  38. 
Vows : 

at  installation,  352,  368. 

at  licensure,  324. 

at    ordination,    288,    349,   351, 
352. 

Waldensian  church  government, 

12. 
Wallingford  Academy,  455. 
Washington  College,  312. 
Watts's  imitation  of  Psalms,  78,  79. 
Week  of  Prayer,  94. 
Weekly  contribution,  343,  478. 
Westminster  Assembly,  13. 

standards,  14,  17-19. 
AVestern    Committee    on    Missions, 

394. 
Western  Education  Society,  409. 
Western  Foreign    Missionary  Soci- 
ety, 435-437. 
Western  Theological  Seminary,  313. 
Widows'  Fund,  446,  447. 
Wine  at  Lord's  Supper,  92, 
Withdrawal  : 

from  church,  147,  148,150. 

from  ministry,  209,  210,  215. 

from  Presbytery,  24,  214. 
Witnesses : 

cited,  132-134. 

censured,  132,  252. 

credibility  of,  134, 


INDEX. 


575 


Witnesses: 

heathen,  134. 

members  of  court,  133. 

Ministers,  134. 

non  communicants,  133. 

from  other  churches,  133. 

under  oathj  120,  468. 
Women : 

Boards,  398,  399,  438,  439. 

Candidates,  301. 

Deaconesses,  66,  67. 

Executive  Committee  of  Home 
Missions,  398. 

Home  Missionary  Society,  399. 

licensed,  81,  301. 

praying,  81 


Women : 

Temperance  Union,  250. 
work  for  women,  399. 
World's  Weeli  of  Prayer,  94. 
Worship,  29,  71-114. 

and  Ministers,  74,  76,  80,  82-93, 

95,  106,  109,  114. 
and  Ruling  Elders  and  Deacons, 

80,  329,  504-509. 
and  Session,  80,  158-160,  505, 

506. 
in  an  unorganized  church,  35. 
in  vacant  churches,  80, 328, 329, 
604-506. 
Written  parts  of  trial,  350. 
sermons,  82. 


THE   END. 


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